Can anger affect an unborn fetus?

Answer 1

It stands to reason that anger could affect a fetus in the sense that physiologically, anger causes people to breathe more shallowly, their heart beats faster, their digestion slows or stops and so on. However, if the emotion is not a constant thing, it is part of life (in or out of the womb!) the child should not be permanently affected.

Answer 2

The nature of the question requires a theoretical answer because no research has been done on foetal emotions. It is common belief however, that the baby in the womb does indeed have normal similar actions as new born in that they will kick and move around etc... these are all pretty rudimentary movements so in reality to conject that the baby at a particular point had was reacting to a a particular thought is a stretch. From a philosophical stand point we get angry because something makes us so. Anger is a part innate and part learnt behaviour. A baby in the womb is almost completely relying on innate responses so to propose that a baby would have a complex emotion like anger is difficult. It is possible that unborn babies have some sort of response to frustration, just like new borns do, but in all likelihood the womb is an optimal environment babies act frustrated because they don't get what they want. An unborn doesn't even know what to want is yet.