Faculty of 1000 evaluation for Maternal positive affect over the course of pregnancy is associated with the length of gestation and reduced risk of preterm delivery [dataset]

Richard Sloan, Julie Spicer
2014 F1000 - Post-publication peer review of the biomedical literature   unpublished
Objective-The association between maternal psychological state during pregnancy and birth outcomes is well established. The focus of previous studies has been on the potentially detrimental consequences of maternal stress on pregnancy and birth outcomes, particularly shortened gestation and increased risk of preterm birth. Despite a growing literature linking positive affect with favorable health outcomes this construct has received little attention in the context of pregnancy. Therefore, in
more » ... current study, we tested the hypothesis that maternal positive affect during pregnancy is associated with beneficial consequences in terms of increased length of gestation and reduced risk of preterm birth above that of the absence of stress. Methods-In 169 pregnant women maternal positive affect and perceived stress were serially assessed at 15.2 ± 0.9 weeks (T1; mean ± SD), 19.7 ± 0.9 weeks (T2) and 30.7 ± 0.7 weeks (T3) gestation. Pregnancy and birth outcomes were abstracted from the medical record. Results-Higher maternal positive affect and a steeper increase in maternal positive affect over pregnancy were positively associated with length of gestation (p < .05) and reduced risk of preterm delivery (p < .01), whereas maternal perceived stress was not significantly associated with shorter length of gestation (p > .10).
doi:10.3410/f.718222972.793489128 fatcat:q5mw45yyznb7nklk3shnpdii4a