Prenatal stress

• Verfasst von: Rothenberger, Steffi Elena [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Moehler, Eva [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Reck, Corinna [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Resch, Franz [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Prenatal stress
• Titelzusatz: course and interrelation of emotional and physiological stress measures
• Verf.angabe: Steffi E. Rothenberger, Eva Moehler, Corinna Reck, Franz Resch
• Jahr: 2011
• Umfang: 8 S.
• Fussnoten: Published online: November 11, 2010 ; Gesehen am 20.09.2022
• Titel Quelle: Enthalten in: Psychopathology
• Ort Quelle: Basel : Karger, 1968
• Jahr Quelle: 2011
• Band/Heft Quelle: 44(2011), Seite 60-67
• ISSN Quelle: 1423-033X
• DOI: doi:10.1159/000319309
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• K10plus-PPN: 1817005103

Abstract

Background: Prenatal stress is known to be a potential risk factor for cognitive, behavioural and motor development that even last until adolescence. A consensus of how ‘prenatal stress’ can be measured, in which trimester of pregnancy women should be studied and whether subjective feelings of being stressed are associated with a hormonal response is still lacking. To close this gap, a prospective longitudinal study was conducted in pregnant women. Sampling and Methods: 108 subjects were asked to fill out questionnaires concerning pregnancy-related anxiety, perceived stress, marital satisfaction, critical life events and to collect salivary cortisol in each trimester of pregnancy. Results: Fear of giving birth increases until the end of pregnancy, and marital satisfaction is highest at the end of pregnancy. Perceived stress is related to a hormonal response in cortisol only in the first (r = 0.18, p < 0.10) and second (r = 0.18, p < 0.10) trimesters of pregnancy. Critical life events are linked to raised cortisol levels in early pregnancy only (r = 0.28, p < 0.01). Conclusion: Prenatal stress can be operationalized by using different subjective as well as physiological stress measures. Only in the first half of pregnancy self-report and physiological stress measures seem to be associated.