Revision and validation of a scale to assess pregnancy stress

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2010

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.

2020

Intorduction: Pregnancy period begins from conception until birth. The pregnancy process involves emotional, physical, and social alterations in the family. Although previous evidence has consistently shown that maternal psychosocial stress influence the outcome of the newborn, maternal emotional condition and psychosocial stress remain less explored. We aimed to identify risk factors associated with the psychosocial stress in pregnancy. Methods: Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 158 pregnant women from the Obstetrics and Gynecology outpatient clinic, Hasanuddin University hospital. Data were obtained using an interview-based likert-scale questionnaire. Results: We described the characteristics of the study population using Chisquare and independent t test. Of 158 pregnant women, more younger women with older gestational age were likely to have a high level of stress (not statistically significant). Conclusion: Socio-economic status (i.e. educational level and occup...

Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de santé de la Méditerranée orientale = al-Majallah al-ṣiḥḥīyah li-sharq al-mutawassiṭ

Stress in pregnancy can lead to low-birth-weight and preterm babies and to psychological consequences such as anxiety and depression during pregnancy and the puerperium. Previous scales to measure stress contain items that overlap with the symptoms of pregnancy. A stress scale was developed based on in-depth interviews with pregnant women in Pakistan. Construct validity, test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability were carried out. Cronbach alpha was 0.82 for the 30 short-listed items, with item-total correlations of 0.2-0.8. Multidimensional scaling determined 2 dimensions: socioenvironmental hassles and chronic illnesses. This was the first scale developed for pregnant women based on stressors in a developing country in South Asia.

Global Journal of Health Science, 2014

Background: Stress during pregnancy can result in critical negative outcomes on the mother, the fetus, the newborn, the child and even the adolescent. Quality of life has been recognized as a predictor of stress amongst pregnant women. The first aim of this study was to investigate the role of quality of life in pregnancy stress rates. The second aim was to explore the relationship between maternal stress rate and the four domains of quality of life namely physical health, psychological status, social relationships and environmental conditions. The present study was a quantitative cross-sectional research. It was conducted on 210 pregnant women in all trimesters of pregnancy who attended a hospital located in the west of Tehran for prenatal care between August and October 2012. Two questionnaires of The WHO QOL-BREF and Specific Pregnancy Stress were given to respondents to complete. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS version 22 using one-way ANOVA and Spearman correlation and Lisrel 8.8 using statistical path analyzing to describe the direct dependencies among variables. In the current study, we hypothesized that quality of life may influence the perceived stress during pregnancy. The mean age of the women surveyed was estimated 27±4.8 years. The ultimate result showed that there is a significant relationship between quality of life and pregnancy stress level (Pvalue<0.05, β=-0.16). In addition, we found a significant relationship, as well as direct correlation between the environmental domain in quality of life and the financial and environmental dimensions of specific pregnancy stress (Pvalue<0.05, r=-0.365, r=-0.181). Further investigations may be considered for extending the results to all pregnant women. Thus, further research across country would be required to validate the results of this study and to generalize the findings to wider population. www.ccsenet.org/gjhs

Journal of Research Development in Nursing & Midwifery, 2020

Background: pregnancy is one of the most stressful periods a woman experiences in her life. This study was done to determine the perceived stress and prenatal distress in pregnancy and its related factors. Methods: The is cohort study was carried out on 110 pregnant women whit gestational age of 24 to 28 weeks who referred to Reference laboratory in Miandoab city in 2016-2017. The sample was selected based on availability. The Cohen Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (PDQ) and demographical information were used. All obtained data were analyzed in SPSS- 23 using t test, Paired-t test and person test. Significant level was considered less than 0.05. Results: The results of study show perceived stress and prenatal distress scores in 32-36 weeks have been uptrend than 24-28 weeks. Also, there was a significant relationship between wanted pregnancy with the mean stress score in 24-28 weeks (p=0.04). Also, between perceived stress score in 32-36 weeks and maternal education level (p=0.045) and between the distress score in 24-28 weeks pregnant and the wanting the sex of the fetus by the women. (p=0.045) Conclusions: According to the results, stress and anxiety of pregnant women increase with approaching delivery time; caregivers should be taken into consideration by pregnant women. In addition, the results of the study show the importance of holding educational classes and raising women’s' awareness of pregnancy and childbirth and having a planned pregnancy to reduce stress and distress.

Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2008

This article is intended to help clinicians better understand the ever-expanding body of research on whether psychosocial stress (both acute and chronic) is linked to 2 major adverse pregnancy outcomes: preterm birth and low birth weight. We summarize the existing literature and then review assessment tools commonly used to diagnose various types of psychosocial stress, with attention to how and when assessments should be made. After discussing the physiologic mechanisms hypothesized to underlie these relationships, we examine the range of existing interventions aimed at reducing psychosocial stress and review their efficacy at improving birth outcomes. Future directions for prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes are discussed and suggest that an entirely new approach may be necessary.

Journal of pregnancy, 2018

Gestational stress is believed to increase the risk of pregnancy failure and perinatal and adult morbidity and mortality in both the mother and her child or children. However, some contradictions might arise from methodological issues or even from differences in the philosophical grounds that guide the studies on gestational stress. Biased perspectives could lead us to use and/or design inadequate/incomplete panels of biochemical determinations and/or psychological instruments to diagnose it accurately during pregnancy, a psychoneuroimmune-endocrine state in which allostatic loads may be significant. Here, we review these notions and propose a model to evaluate and diagnose stress during pregnancy.

Stress Medicine, 1996

The purpose of this article is to present the French and English versions of the High-Risk Pregnancy Stress Scale (HRPSS) and the reliability and validity analyses. This instrument contains 16 items representing psychological and environmental stressors of the at-risk pregnancy situation with or without hospitalization. The HRPSS was developed specifically to measure the degree of stress as experienced by women with high-risk pregnancy. The results of the principal component analyses with Varimax rotation ( N = 105) reveal that the HRPSS has two components. The first component represents physical restriction, while the second represents concerns related to pregnancy. These two components have been identified as forming the basis of the concept of antenatal-related stress. The HRPSS demonstrates internal consistency, equivalence and stability reliability. The psychometric analyses reveal that both the French and English versions have similar qualities.

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 2011

Background: Pregnant women with high levels of stress, depression and/or anxiety are at increased risk for adverse perinatal outcomes and impaired neurologic and emotional development of the offspring. Pregnancy specific instruments to measure psychological functioning during gestation are scarce and do not define items based on in-depth interviews of pregnant and recently delivered women. The current study developed a pregnancy specific scale that measures psychological functioning using in-depth interviews. Methods: Three focus groups were formed to discuss issues most relevant to pregnancy distress; 22 candidate items were derived for pilot testing (study I, n = 419) its psychometric properties by means of explorative factor analyses (EFA). This resulted in a 17-item TPDS which was further explored by confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and concurrent and construct validity assessment (study II, n = 454).

iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research, 2020

Background: There are no proper tools for measuring pregnancy-specific stress in Iranian population. The aim of this study was psychometric evaluation of the Persian version of Revised Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (NuPDQ) for the first time in Iranian society. Materials and Methods: In a descriptive-analytic study, 269 pregnant women completed the NUPDQ at Obstetrics clinics of Mazanderan Province, Iran. The reliability of the 12-item NuPDQ and 17-item NuPDQ was reevaluated using Cronbach's alpha and internal consistency. Concurrent validity was assessed using the Spielberger state-anxiety Inventory. Moreover, exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the structural factors of the questionnaire. Results: Factor analysis revealed that the 12-item NuPDQ consisted of four areas in the second trimester including medical and financial problem, physical symptoms, infant health, and parenting with the explained variance of 64.15%. The Persian version of 17-item NuPDQ consisted of 5 areas in the third trimester, including medical and financial problems, physical symptoms, infant health, parenting, and labor and delivery with an explained variance of 61.94%. In addition, interclass correlation coefficient in all 4 areas and overall scale score exceeded 0.90. Finally, the reliability was high based on Cronbach's alpha of 0.78 for 12-item NuPDQ and 0.79 for 17-item NuPDQ. Conclusions: The Persian version of 12-item NuPDQ in the second trimester and 17-item NuPDQ in the third trimester, as well as all the extracted subscales, had a good validity and reliability for assessing pregnancy-specific stress in Iranian society and can be used in clinical practice.

2010

Aim: To determine the effect of psychosocial stress on maternal complications during pregnancy Methods: A population based prospective cohort study was carried out in Sri Lanka from May 2001 to April 2002. Pregnant women were recruited on or before 16 weeks of gestation and followed up until delivery. The sample size was 774. The relevant exposure data were collected on average during the 12 th and 28 th week of gestation. Psychosocial stress was assessed using the Modified Life Events Inventory and the General Health Questionnaire 30 (GHQ 30). Maternal complications were defined as the presence of pregnancy induced hypertension or gestational diabetes or ante partum hemorrhage. Multiple logistic regression was applied and the results were expressed as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results: On multiple logistic regression analysis, experience of ≥2 life events during the second trimester [

Archives of Women's Mental Health

Maternal prenatal stress places a substantial burden on mother’s mental health. Expectant mothers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have thus far received less attention than mothers in high-income settings. This is particularly problematic, as a range of triggers, such as exposure to traumatic events (e.g. natural disasters, previous pregnancy losses) and adverse life circumstances (e.g. poverty, community violence), put mothers at increased risk of experiencing prenatal stress. The ten-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) is a widely recognised index of subjective experience of stress that is increasingly used in LMICs. However, evidence for its measurement equivalence across settings is lacking. This study aims to assess measurement invariance of the PSS-10 across eight LMICs and across birth parity. This research was carried out as part of the Evidence for Better Lives Study (EBLS, vrc.crim.cam.ac.uk/vrcresearch/EBLS). The PSS-10 was administered to N = 1,208 expectant...

European journal of public health, 2013

These authors contributed equally to this work.

International journal of epidemiology, 2017

to understand the extent to which an adverse environment in utero can alter fetal growth and development, with potential lifelong impacts on health and disease, based on the theoretical framework of the 'Developmental Origins of Health and Diseases (DoHaD) Hypothesis'. 1-6 Growing evidence 7-9 suggests that not only the genome but also the epigenome, the heritable, quasi-stable yet dynamic control of gene expression, can be modulated by the environment, and plays a vital role in defining health and disease in growing offspring. 10-12 Preclinical studies demonstrated that antenatal stress leads to dysregulated neurobehavioural functioning and problems with development, providing a solid platform for hypothesis testing in human studies. Human studies have also demonstrated that antenatal exposure to broadly defined stress (i.e. stressful life events and psychological problems) is linked to long-term neurobehavioural problems in offspring, 13,14 such as autism, 15,16 schizophrenia 17-20 and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, 21-23 as well as growth-related suboptimal reproductive outcomes such as intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) 24-26 and obesity, 27-29 through epigenetic mechanisms. Human studies remain hampered by methodological restrictions, including: (i) the inability to randomize pregnant women in varying stressful condition and to systematically control for the level and timing of any exposure; (ii) stressful c A graduate/professional degree includes higher level postgraduate degrees (Master's, MD, JD, PhD etc).

Nusantara Medical Science Journal, 2018

The Pregnancy period begins from conception until birth. It is hard to figure out if the pregnancy will get any problem. The process will involve emotional, physical and social alteration in the family. Until now,the maternal emotional condition, psychosocial stress are rarely to watch over by medical practisioners meanwhile at some study said that maternal psychosocial stress influence the outcome of baby. The aim of this study to analyze some factors that is associated to psychosocial stress in pregnancy women. This was a cross-sectional study of collected by using questionaires, were comprised of 11 questions using likert-scales, then using bivariat analysis by t-test and chi square to evaluate the sample characteristic at teaching hospital Hasanuddin University in 2015. There are 158 pregnant woman, shows who are in the age of 26,25 ± 6,319, suffer from stress, who are in their gestasional age of 30,63 ± 9,164 weeks will be going through the high level of stress. The age of pre...