Virginia Vitzthum Environmental Stress

Dr. Virginia Vitzthum conducted the research study, Environmental Stress and Its Impact on Pregnancy. Dr. Vitzthum has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Michigan, an M.A. in Biological Anthropology from the University of Michigan, and a B.S./B.A. in Biology and Anthropology from Queens College. Furthermore, Dr. Vitzthum is a senior scientist at the Kinsey Institute in Bloomington, Indiana, and is an evolutionary anthropologist and professor in the Anthropology department at Indiana University. The purpose of Dr. Vitzthum’s research on environmental stress and its impact on pregnancy is to explore factors contributing to pregnancy loss in the early stages of reproduction in women among different cultures. Dr. Vitzthum conducted …show more content…
Vitzthum to study this topic is the continued dispute over whether genetics or evolution is the cause of fertility and pregnancy variation. She stated that for years people were convinced genetic influences made it difficult to conceive, but once you have conceived you are likely to carry the child to full term. Evidence suggests otherwise, stating that it is actually easier to conceive and harder to carry the child to full term. Dr. Vitzthum stated that, in fact, natural selection over time suggests that the environment has a major role in the physiological responses in the body. Examples of environmental factors include hard work, food quantity and quality, and psychosocial stress from other individuals. She stated that if physiological responses are negative, the body responds with higher levels of cortisol. This level of cortisol and adrenal stimulation is related to an increased risk of pregnancy loss. This suggests that it is not only a physical impact on the women but a psychosocial influence as well. Dr. Vitzthum continuously emphasized the important impact psychosocial environments have on women who are trying to conceive. She gave an example with a group of 100 women who want to start a family. It would take 1-2 years for each of these women to conceive a child due to different psychosocial cues. Furthermore, Dr. Vitzthum wants to study Bolivian women’s transition to menopause because, so far, there has been no study of hormonal variation in …show more content…
Vitzthum gathered a considerable amount of evidence that led the understanding of the mechanisms of conception, pregnancy, and pregnancy loss to the conclusion that the environment has a significant influence on women. During the worst seasons of hard labor and low food supply for women, their risk of pregnancy loss was twice as high than during the better seasons. She stated that if it were a genetic influence, it would have been a periodic pregnancy loss throughout the year. Dr. Vitzthum also contributed to the topic of comparing pregnancy in industrialized women to women in an agrarian society. She discussed how she hypothesizes childhood sets the stage for adulthood. In an industrial society, women are exposed to an increased food supply and are told to participate in moderate activity levels. This results from menstrual activity being hypersensitive to physical activity. She stated that women in Bolivia and other cultures are exposed to a higher physical activity from childhood, and therefore, are not affected by this. From gathering this data, she wants to further her research and understand why hormone levels are significantly lower in Bolivian women compared to women in the United States. In the last ten years, Bolivian women and women in other cultures have started to use more contraceptives. The issue is that they are showing an increased amount of side effects compared to women in the United States. Dr. Vitzthum believes that one must