Abstract
Abstract
Associations between Prenatal Maternal Stress and Birth
Outcomes
By Huaiyu Zhang
The literature on relationships between maternal prenatal stress
and birth outcomes is mixed, partly attributable to the difference
in operationalization of stress and birth outcome measures. This
study aimed at applying a multivariate approach to assess these
associations. Life event stress, perceived stress, and cortisol
were included as stress indicators. Birth weight, gestational age,
and Obstetric Complications Scale (OCS) were assessed as birth
outcome measures. A total of 191 women were recruited for 2
prenatal visits, and their delivery information was collected from
their medical charts. Statistical analyses included multiple linear
regression, independent t test, chi square, and two-way ANOVA. For
mothers of male babies, high cortisol levels during the third
trimester were related to higher scores of stressful life
events.Albeit preliminarily, the results indicate that maternal
prenatal stress adversely impacts birth weight of male babies, and
the consistency of cortisol levels during pregnancy is associated
with birth weight of female babies. Further studies on
contextualization of stress measures and improvement on statistical
method are suggested.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
I.
Introduction…………………………………………………………………..…………………1
II.
Method…………………………………………..……………………………………………18
III.
Results………………………………..………………………………………………………21
IV.
Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………30
V.
References…………………………………………………………………………………….46
VI.
Tables……………………...…………………………………………………………………59
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