THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESS IN PREGNANCY, AND PREGNANCY OUTCOMES: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY

Pregnancy of a woman is one of the most stressful periods during her life. Stress
in pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding time can cause adverse results of pregnancy. Considering the
importance of the mental health of pregnancy period, that can have significant impact on mother health
and also on mental and physical health of baby, we decided to do a study to determine the relationship
between stress in pregnancy and its outcomes on pregnant mothers in Miandoab.
Materials & Methods: This longitudinal study was done on110 pregnant women in Fatimazahra
hospital, and health care centers in miandoab from November 2015 to late March 2016. All available
mothers, who were on 24-28weeks of their pregnancy were selected for the study. Cohen perceived
stress questionnaires and demographical information were completed by mothers in their 28-32 and 32-
36 weeks of their pregnancy. In their delivertime, Cohen Perceived Stress questionnaires and questions
about pregnancy outcomes in each follow-up were completed by mothers again. All obtained data were
analyzed statistically (by spss version 23 and P< 0.05, Mann-Whitney U test was used as well).
Results: There was a significant relationship between the average of perceived stress score by mothers
and preeclampsia (P=0.008) and also spotting and bleeding during pregnancy (P=0.03). There was a
negative significant relationship between perceived stress score by mothers score and newborns weight
(P=0.039), and newborns height (P=0.014). A significant relationship between the stress score in 32-36
weeks and soaking up the baby with meconium was also found (P=0.018).
Conclusion: According to undesirable results that stress can have in pregnancy and delivery and also
on the newborn, it is recommended to apply mental health screening in pregnancy and stress reduction
techniques at this period