%0 Journal Article %J Am J Obstet Gynecol %D 2010 %T Psychosocial stress during pregnancy. %A Woods, Sarah M %A Melville, Jennifer L %A Guo, Yuqing %A Fan, Ming-Yu %A Gavin, Amelia %K Adult %K Alcohol Drinking %K Cross-Sectional Studies %K Female %K Health Behavior %K Humans %K Logistic Models %K Pregnancy %K Pregnancy Outcome %K Risk Factors %K Stress, Psychological %K Substance-Related Disorders %X

OBJECTIVE: We sought to identify factors associated with high antenatal psychosocial stress and describe the course of psychosocial stress during pregnancy.

STUDY DESIGN: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data from an ongoing registry. Study participants were 1522 women receiving prenatal care at a university obstetric clinic from January 2004 through March 2008. Multiple logistic regression identified factors associated with high stress as measured by the Prenatal Psychosocial Profile stress scale.

RESULTS: The majority of participants reported antenatal psychosocial stress (78% low-moderate, 6% high). Depression (odds ratios [OR], 9.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.5-17.0), panic disorder (OR, 6.8; 95% CI, 2.9-16.2), drug use (OR, 3.8; 95% CI, 1.2-12.5), domestic violence (OR, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.4-8.3), and having > or =2 medical comorbidities (OR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.8-5.5) were significantly associated with high psychosocial stress. For women who screened twice during pregnancy, mean stress scores declined during pregnancy (14.8 +/- 3.9 vs 14.2 +/- 3.8; P < .001).

CONCLUSION: Antenatal psychosocial stress is common, and high levels are associated with maternal factors known to contribute to poor pregnancy outcomes.

%B Am J Obstet Gynecol %V 202 %P 61.e1-7 %8 2010 Jan %G eng %N 1 %R 10.1016/j.ajog.2009.07.041