The impact of prenatal stressful life events on adverse birth outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Liang, Mingming; Wu, Yun; Zhao, Tianming; Qu, Guangbo; Zhang, Jian; Zhang, Huimei; Han, Tiantian; Ma, Shaodi; Sun, Yehuan

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.03.083

Cited by 39 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…Study findings also suggest that during the pandemic, close attention should be focused on particular groups of pregnant women, similarly identified by prior research as vulnerable to high maternal stress [ 12 , 23 , 37 ]: women pregnant for the first time, those with a high-risk pregnancy, women who have been trying to conceive for a long time, women who feel discriminated against for various reasons, those who have experienced major life events during pregnancy, and those with other emotional and psychiatric difficulties. These groups experience a higher level of pandemic-related pregnancy stress and therefore may be more prone to complications associated with prenatal stress, including preterm birth, low birthweight, and other outcomes that are well-recognized consequences of high maternal stress during pregnancy [ 44 , 45 ]. For these women, early intervention and the provision of psychological support tailored to their needs may also prevent the development or aggravation of psychopathology.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pandemic Stress and Its Correlates among Pregnant Women during the Second Wave of COVID-19 in Poland

Ilska

Kołodziej-Zaleska

Brandt-Salmeri

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Background: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created numerous stressful conditions, especially for vulnerable populations such as pregnant women. Pandemic-related pregnancy stress consists of two dimensions: stress associated with feeling unprepared for birth due to the pandemic (Preparedness Stress), and stress related to fears of perinatal COVID-19 infection (Perinatal Infection Stress). The purpose of our study was to elucidate the association between various factors—sociodemographic, obstetric, pandemic-related, and situational—and pandemic stress in its two dimensions during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Polish pregnant women. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a total of 1119 pregnant women recruited during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland (between November 2020 and January 2021). Participants were recruited via social media to complete an online study questionnaire that included sociodemographic, obstetric, situational, and COVID-19 pandemic factors, as well as the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale (PREPS). Results: Nearly 38.5% of participants reported high Preparedness Stress; 26% reported high Perinatal Infection Stress. Multivariate analyses indicated that lack of COVID-19 diagnosis, higher compliance with safety rules and restrictions, and limited access to outdoor space were independently associated with moderate to severe levels of Infection Stress. Current emotional or psychiatric problems, nulliparity, limited access to outdoor space, and alterations to obstetric visits were independently associated with moderate to severe Preparedness Stress. Conclusion: Study findings suggest that particular attention should be focused on the groups of pregnant women who are most vulnerable to pandemic-related stress and therefore may be more prone to adverse outcomes associated with prenatal stress.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pandemic Stress and Its Correlates among Pregnant Women during the Second Wave of COVID-19 in Poland

Ilska

Kołodziej-Zaleska

Brandt-Salmeri

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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“…Page 2 of 11 Duguay et al Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health (2022) 16:28 [9][10][11][12][13], especially in the form of depressive and anxiety symptoms [5,[14][15][16][17]. This upsurge in prenatal distress in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic is alarming considering that anxiety and depressive symptoms during pregnancy have been associated with poorer outcomes in offspring, such as early gestational age, lower birth weight, and developmental delays [18][19][20][21]. A meta-analysis performed before the COVID-19 pandemic reported that the odds of having a child with behavioral difficulties were 1.63 times greater for pregnant women reporting symptoms of depression or anxiety than for women who did not [22].…”

Section: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry And Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socioemotional development in infants of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of prenatal and postnatal maternal distress

Duguay

Garon-Bissonnette

Lemieux

et al. 2022

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

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Background An upsurge in psychological distress was documented in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated with a longitudinal design whether prenatal and postnatal maternal distress during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with lower infant socioemotional development. Methods Pregnant women (N = 468, Mage = 30,00, 97.6% White) were recruited during the first COVID-19 mandatory lockdown in Quebec, Canada, from April 2nd to April 13th 2020 and were re-contacted at two months postpartum to complete self-reported measures of general (i.e. not specifically related to the COVID-19 pandemic) anxio-depressive symptoms and infant development. Structural equation modeling analyses were performed using maximum likelihood parameter estimation. Results Higher maternal prenatal distress significantly contributed to poorer infant socioemotional development. A mediation model showed that postnatal distress significantly mediated the association between prenatal distress and infant socioemotional development, whereas the direct effect of prenatal distress was no longer significant. Prenatal and postnatal maternal distress accounted for 13.7% of the variance in infant socioemotional development. Conclusion Our results call for special means of clinical surveillance in mothers and for innovative (online) interventions aiming to support maternal mental health during pregnancy and after delivery.

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“…Two significant areas where further clarity is needed are related to timing of racism-related adversity exposures. A large body of research has identified pregnancy as a sensitive period where stress and adversity exposure have a clear detrimental impact on birth outcomes ( 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 ), with a recent meta-analysis finding prenatal stressful life events to be associated with a 14%–23% higher risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and small for gestational age outcomes ( 56 ). Several studies have also examined preconception adversity, demonstrating that it has a unique effect on adverse birth outcomes ( 57 ).…”

Section: Recommendations For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of prenatal stressful life events on adverse birth outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Cited by 39 publications

References 76 publications

Pandemic Stress and Its Correlates among Pregnant Women during the Second Wave of COVID-19 in Poland

Pandemic Stress and Its Correlates among Pregnant Women during the Second Wave of COVID-19 in Poland

Socioemotional development in infants of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of prenatal and postnatal maternal distress

The contribution of racism-related stress and adversity to disparities in birth outcomes: evidence and research recommendations

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