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London, Dec 15 (ANI): A new study by scientists in the UK has shown that raging hormones during pregnancy not only prompt mood swings, but may also lead to a heightened ability to recognise threatening or aggressive faces.

This may have evolved because it makes would-be mums hyper-vigilant, yet it could also make them more susceptible to anxiety, according to the study.

Studies in the past have shown that a woman’s ability to correctly identify fearful or disgusted facial expressions varies according to her stage of the menstrual cycle, with perception heightened on days associated with high levels of the hormone progesterone.

Since levels of progesterone and other hormones rise dramatically in late pregnancy, Rebecca Pearson and her colleagues at the University of Bristol in the UK conducted a study to find out whether the ability to read faces varies during pregnancy.

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