Stress Is Harder On Women’s Hearts Which Can’t Bode Well If You’re A Mom

The stress of parenthood is probably akin to no other. Professionally employed mothers and SAHMs may go back and forth in a senseless debate about who “works harder,” but the stress of raising children can very well keep both parties up at night. So given all the demands of motherhood, complete with that never-ending to-do list, swimming lessons, doctors appointments, school functions, and even just keeping food in the house, what exactly are mothers supposed to make of news that mental stress takes a greater toll of themselves than their male partners?

A small study of 17 men and women determined that when rushed about answering arithmetic problems, men exhibited increased blood flow to cope with the stress while ladies did not. According to Chester Ray, a professor of medicine at Penn State College of Medicine, this makes women more susceptible to heart problems. Msnbc reports that the results provide a real window into how women respond to isolated incidents of severe stress with heart ailments. But given what mothers often field on a daily basis — from random emergency room visits to the instantaneous stomach drop when you turn around in the supermarket and your kid is missing — I’m curious as to what these findings mean for women who engage in the every day crucible that is raising kids.

(photo: SFC/ Shutterstock)