Eczema in Babies Due to Stress in Pregnancy PR Newswire GENEVA and ZURICH, June 15, 2012 GENEVA and ZURICH, June 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Latest allergy research presented at world's leading Congress on Allergy and Immunology in Geneva (EAACI Congress 2012) 47% of atopic eczema in babies occur due to stress during pregnancy Up to 40% of Europeans suffer from hay fever Top 3 European allergens: grass, birch, olive Pollen differs by "nationality": 4-5 fold differences in pollen potency between European countries Asthma and rhinitis stress Public Health in Europe Ground-breaking research results about stress during pregnancy and changes in pollen potency across Europe will be presented - among other novel research - at the world's leading congress on allergy and immunology - the EAACI Congress 2012 - that will open tomorrow in Geneva, Switzerland. Maternal anxiety during pregnancy is a risk factor for the onset of infantile atopic eczema at the age of 6-8 months. Researchers at the National Center for Child Health and Development, Allergy Division in Tokyo, Japan, have come to this conclusion after analysing data from 896 pairs of mothers and children (474 boys and 422 girls) that will be presented for the first time at the EAACI Congress 2012. "18.75% of mothers were classified into the highest anxiety group, 62.39% of mothers showed moderate anxiety and 18.86% of mothers were categorised into the lowest anxiety group", explains Dr.