Stress in pregnancy: The influence of psychological and social mediators in perinatal experiences

The influence of stress in pregnancy on labor and delivery events and postnatal infant status has been investigated by several researchers. Our research investigated the role played by stress as modulated by the effects of psychological and social variables on perinatal risks. Subjects are pregnant women and their infants. In their eighth month all women completed the: Life Events Scale, Social Support Inventory, Rotter Internal-External Scale, the Maternal Attitudes Toward Pregnancy Inventory and demographic forms. Medical records were used to: (1) score the Hobel et al. and Nesbitt/Aubry Perinatal Risk Scales, (2) to identify specific labor and delivery events, and (3) to assess mother and infant postnatal status. Separate regression analyses were used to assess the relationships between stress, the median variables (social support, pregnancy attitudes, locus of control), and specific labor, delivery, and postnatal events. Results show that life events stress is modulated by other variables in influencing perinatal risk.