Financial strain leads to smaller babies.

• Position: Economics

A financially strapped pregnant woman's worries about the arrival and care of her little one could contribute to the birth of a smaller, medically vulnerable infant, suggests a study in the journal Archives of Women's Mental Health.

"There is an opportunity here to look for interventions during pregnancy that could help mitigate the effects of financial strain on birth outcomes," says lead author Amanda Mitchell, a researcher in the Wexner Medical Center's Stress and Health in Pregnancy Research Program.

While larger efforts to improve access to housing, jobs, and support for low-income women is critical, there are potential low-cost, stress-reduction techniques that could help reduce risk, Mitchell indicates. Meditation and breathing exercises can prove useful, for instance.

"It's important for all women who experience pregnancy-related stress to seek out help coping with that stress, and ob-gyns and...