Anxious moms risk preterm birth
2007-09-04 11:37
New York - Women who are
particularly anxious about their pregnancy may be at increased
risk of premature delivery, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that among 1 820 pregnant women, those
with the greatest concerns about their pregnancy were nearly
three times more likely than those with the least anxiety to
deliver prematurely. The findings are published in the journal
Psychosomatic Medicine.
Stress during pregnancy has been linked to a higher risk of
complications in some studies, though not all.
And those that
have identified a link have not suggested any simple solutions
to the problem.
For the current study, researchers looked specifically at
women's worries related to their pregnancy - including anxiety
over labour and delivery, and worries about early pregnancy
problems like bleeding and nausea.
Types of anxiety
The goal was to see whether
the risk of preterm birth was influenced by the types of
anxiety that obstetricians can fairly easily address.
For example, a woman's fears about labour might be allayed
by a thorough discussion with her doctor, according to the
study authors, led by Dr Suezanne T Orr of East Carolina
University in Greenville, North Carolina.
For their study, the researchers had 1 820 women complete a
questionnaire on pregnancy worries during their first visit for
prenatal care.
The women were asked whether they were anxious
about labour and delivery, the health of the baby, nausea, and
pain or bleeding during early pregnancy.
They were then given anxiety "scores" ranging from 0 to 6.
Overall, Orr's team found, women who scored a 5 or 6 were
at greater risk of preterm delivery than those with lower
scores.
History of problems
This remained true when the researchers considered
factors that could both fuel women's anxiety and raise the risk
of preterm birth - such as a history of problems in past
pregnancies, or health problems during the current pregnancy.
The findings suggest that excessive anxiety itself may
contribute to premature delivery in some women, according to
Orr and her colleagues.
"If additional research confirms our findings," they write,
"then this might suggest an avenue for intervention to reduce
spontaneous preterm birth. Anxiety is a treatable condition."
They point out that pregnancy-related worries, in
particular, can be addressed with education.
"Pregnant women could receive information from their
healthcare providers about the signs and symptoms of a normal
pregnancy and the process of labour and delivery to reduce their
worries and concerns about pregnancy, and ultimately their risk
of spontaneous preterm birth outcomes," the team notes.