The researchers behind the exhibit, from Imperial College London, hope that it will raise awareness among families of the importance of reducing levels of stress and anxiety in expectant mothers.

Reducing stress during pregnancy can help prevent thousands of children from developing emotional and behavioural problems, they said.Visitors to the exhibition will have the chance to play a game that shows how a mother's stress can increase the heart rate of her unborn baby.

They will also be able to touch a real placenta, encased safely in plastic. The placenta is crucial for foetal development as it usually protects the unborn baby from the stress hormone cortisol.
However, when the mother is stressed, the placenta becomes less protective and the mother's cortisol may have an effect on the foetus, said an Imperial release.

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