This study explored whether women's beliefs about, and emotional responses to, pregnancy could account for variations in maternal mental and physical health outcomes, using the self-regulatory model as a theoretical framework. Women in the last trimester of pregnancy (N = 408) completed an online survey including measures of representations of ...

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated the experiences of living with pelvic girdle pain (PGP) and its impact on pregnant women's lives. To address this gap in knowledge, this study investigates the experiences of women living with PGP during pregnancy. METHODS: A purposive sample, of nine pregnant women with diagnosed PGP, ...

Exposure to maternal hypothyroxinemia during pregnancy, which is characterized by low free T4 but normal TSH levels, can negatively affect the fetus. This review provides an overview of present findings concerning the association between maternal hypothyroxinemia during pregnancy and childhood cognitive functioning. Possible causes of maternal hypothyroxinemia and potential mechanisms ...

The management of mood disorders during pregnancy is complex due to risks associated with medication use and risks associated with untreated depression. Antidepressant use during pregnancy is an exposure for the unborn child, and it currently remains unclear what long-term repercussions there might be from this exposure, though available data ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate attitude among Danes toward termination of pregnancy (TOP) for social reasons and fetal abnormality (Down's syndrome, cystic fibrosis, adult polycystic kidney disease and the missing of one upper extremity) at different gestational ages. METHOD: A questionnaire was mailed to 1000 Danish citizens aged 18 to 45 years randomly ...

BACKGROUND: The methylation status of the human glucocorticoid receptor gene NR3C1 in newborns has been reported to be sensitive to prenatal maternal mood. This study investigates both the association between maternal cortisol and emotional state during pregnancy and the methylation state of the promoter region of NR3C1 gene. METHODS: We ...

BACKGROUND: Using nationally representative data, this paper investigates the experience of crisis pregnancy (CP) among Irish and non-Irish adults living in Ireland in 2010. AIMS: To generate a detailed profile of Irish and non-Irish adults living in Ireland who have had an experience of CP and to investigate the differences ...

Pregnancy termination for fetal abnormality (TFA) can have significant psychological consequences. Most previous research has been focused on measuring the psychological outcomes of TFA, and little is known about the coping strategies involved. In this article, we report on women's coping strategies used during and after the procedure. Our account ...

Heterosexism and patriarchy collude to create an expectation of pregnancy for all women. In addition, the bodily production of pregnancy has been socially gendered as feminine because of its association with female-bodied people. These two ideological codes-that all women should become mothers through pregnancy and that pregnancy is a femininely ...

Gestational carriers have a right to be fully informed of the risks of the surrogacy process and of pregnancy, should receive psychological evaluation and counseling, and should have independent legal counsel.

BACKGROUND: Early involvement of fathers with their children has increased in recent times and this is associated with improved cognitive and socio-emotional development of children. Research in the area of father's engagement with pregnancy and childbirth has mainly focused on white middle-class men and has been mostly qualitative in design. ...

Abstract Recently, two authors suggested that killing a healthy newborn might be morally permissible, subsuming it under the heading of 'after birth abortion'. Their proposed new definition implies that infanticide should be permitted whenever II trimester abortion for social reasons is. The suggestion stirred public outcry; nonetheless it needs to ...

The objectives of this study were to determine if racial and ethnic differences in personal capital during pregnancy exist and to estimate the extent to which any identified racial and ethnic differences in personal capital are related to differences in maternal sociodemographic and acculturation characteristics. Data are from the 2007 ...

PURPOSE: To examine, from a youth's perspective, adolescent pregnancy and parenting in Baltimore, Maryland, a city with high rates of adolescent pregnancy. METHODS: Six gender-stratified focus groups with 13- to 19-year-olds (4 female and 2 male groups; n = 47). We recorded focus groups, transcribed them verbatim, and analyzed them using ...

BACKGROUND: Defining male involvement during pregnancy is essential for the development of future research and appropriate interventions to optimize services aiming to improve birth outcomes. Study Aim: To define male involvement during pregnancy and obtain community-based recommendations for interventions to improve male involvement during pregnancy. METHODS: We conducted focus groups ...

OBJECTIVE: To study whether pregnancy-related lumbopelvic pain outcomes at 36 weeks gestation can be predicted by psychological determinants earlier in pregnancy. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Nine midwifery practices in different regions of the Netherlands. POPULATION: A cohort of 223 low-risk pregnant women in the Netherlands was followed from the ...

Introduction: This research was conducted to gain insight into how low-income, pregnant, African American women viewed physical activity and approached nutrition during pregnancy. Methods: Three focus groups with a total of 26 women were conducted utilizing open-ended questions related to physical activity and diet during pregnancy. Content analysis was used ...

To investigate the predictive/protective role of negative affect/positive affect in late pregnancy on the outcome of postpartum depression. A total of 491 pregnant women participated in the study. The participants were asked to fill out a series of questionnaires, which included the Profile of Mood States, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, ...

There is a high incidence of distressing psychological symptoms including anxiety in pregnancy. Nevertheless, predictors of distress and anxiety during pregnancy have not been well characterized. We determined whether temperament and character, trait anxiety, resilience, and social support predicted distress and anxiety symptoms in pregnancy. Pregnant women (n=105) with low ...

BACKGROUND: Life transitions are associated with high levels of stress affecting health behaviours among people with Type 1 diabetes. Transition to motherhood is a major transition with potential complications accelerated by pregnancy with risks of adverse childbirth outcomes and added anxiety and worries about pregnancy outcomes. Further, preparing and going ...

Abstract Structured interviews were conducted with 224 HIV-positive women diagnosed during pregnancy, at antenatal clinics in Tshwane, South Africa, in order to investigate the use of coping strategies during the first two years after diagnosis. Interviews were conducted between one and four weeks after diagnosis during pregnancy, with three follow-up ...

To assess the association between lifetime violence victimization and self-reported symptoms associated with pregnancy complications among women living in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border. Cross-sectional survey of partnered women aged 15-49 years living in three refugee camps who reported a pregnancy that resulted in a live birth within the past ...

The study explores the pregnancy-related emotions of women. The investigated predictive factors include the woman's age, previous maternal experiences, especially miscarriage or birth defects, skills related to maternity, pregnancy planning, objective and subjective health status, social relationships and social support, especially the partner relationship, and housing status. The Czech ELSPAC ...

STUDY QUESTION: Is anxiety focused on the pregnancy outcome, known to be particularly salient in women conceiving through assisted reproductive technology (ART), related to difficult infant temperament? SUMMARY ANSWER: While trait anxiety predicts infant temperament, pregnancy-focused anxiety is not associated with more difficult infant temperament. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: A ...

OBJECTIVE: A literature review explores the author's experience of conflict while working as a psychiatry registrar during her pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Conflicts may arise during a registrar's pregnancy, but can be mediated through effective supervision and peer support, and may benefit future clinical practice with the development of new insights and ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to provide an opinion on the issues surrounding the pregnant psychiatric trainee, from the perspective of a senior female colleague who has integrated professional life with motherhood. METHOD: The basis for this opinion piece is the article by a psychiatric trainee who describes ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the views of women diagnosed with a mood disorder about children, medication and pregnancy. METHOD: Female patients from the Black Dog Institute were invited to complete a questionnaire regarding their views about pregnancy, children and medication during pregnancy. Diagnostic groupings were ...

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to describe weight status of obese mothers six months after delivery, and examine its potential relationship to important socio-demographical, behavioural and psychological variables. DESIGN AND METHODS: Postpartum data from an interventional trial in obese pregnant women (n=197), conducted in three regional hospitals in the Belgian Flanders, between ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The global obesity epidemic has led to increased attention on pregnancy, a period when women are at risk of gaining excessive weight. Excessive gestational weight gain is associated with numerous complications, for both mother and child. Though the problem is widespread, few studies have examined the effect of ...

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine whether the severity of physical symptoms experienced during perimenopause can be predicted by physical symptoms experienced during past reproductive events (ie, symptoms experienced during pregnancy, the postpartum period, the premenstrual phase, and hormonal contraceptive use). METHODS: Two hundred ninety perimenopausal and postmenopausal women completed ...

Background. Despite little evidence to suggest that HPA axis responses to psychological provocation are attenuated during pregnancy, it is widely held that dampening of the HPA axis response to psychological distress serves a protective function for the mother and fetus. The current study was designed to assess changes in biobehavioral ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this qualitative study was to gather insights into pregnant women's experiences with provider advice about diet and physical activity. METHODS: We conducted a series of 13 focus groups with a total of 58 pregnant African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic women of varying body sizes. Statements were ...

Despite the introduction of salt iodization programmes as national measures to control iodine deficiency, several European countries are still suffering from mild iodine deficiency (MID). In iodine sufficient or mildly iodine deficient areas, iodine deficiency during pregnancy frequently appears in case the maternal thyroid gland cannot meet the demand for ...

While showering is thought to be an effective coping strategy during labor, research on this comfort measure is lacking. The purpose of this study was to measure effectiveness of therapeutic showering on pain, coping, tension, anxiety, relaxation, and fatigue in labor. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest single group design was conducted in ...

Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy also tend to experience depressive symptoms. Unfortunately, little is known about how victimized women's levels of depressive symptoms change longitudinally before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and after infant delivery. In addition, few studies have used a comparison group of women to determine ...

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To assess: (1) the prenatal distress level in Turkish pregnant women and (2) to examine the association between prenatal maternal distress and personal and pregnancy-specific factors. BACKGROUND: Pregnant women experience stress originating from a variety of pregnancy-specific issues, including physical symptoms and changes, changes in body image, ...

The reproductive life of women is characterised by a number of distinct reproductive events and phases (e.g. premenstrual phase, peripartum, perimenopause). The hormonal transitions during these phases are often associated with both psychological and physical symptoms. Associations between these reproductive phases have been shown by numerous studies. However, the relationship ...

Spontaneous subcapsular liver hematoma is rare but potentially life-threatening complication of pregnancy usually associated with severe preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets). We present here a case of such a large spontaneous liver hematoma presenting in pregnancy, but without other known associated abnormalities, which has ...

Background: The psychological health in obese women during pregnancy has been poorly studied. Objective: To compare levels of anxiety and depressed mood during pregnancy in obese versus normal-weight women. Methods: 63 obese pregnant women and 156 normal-weight controls were included prospectively before 15 weeks of gestation. Levels of state and ...

PURPOSE:: Symptoms of nausea and vomiting are commonly experienced during early pregnancy (nausea and vomiting of pregnancy or NVP) and have been associated with stress, anxiety, and depression in pregnancy. However, nausea and vomiting in late pregnancy is a little-studied phenomenon. The purpose of our study was to examine the ...

Background. The transtheoretical model (TTM) has been successful in promoting health behavioral change in the general population. However, there is a scant knowledge about physical activity in relation to the TTM during pregnancy. Hence, the aims of the present study were (1) to assess readiness to become or stay physically ...

To study the association between parental depression and maternal antidepressant use during pregnancy with autism spectrum disorders in offspring. Population based nested case-control study. Stockholm County, Sweden, 2001-07. 4429 cases of autism spectrum disorder (1828 with and 2601 without intellectual disability) and 43 277 age and sex matched controls in the ...

Associations between salivary cortisol and maternal psychological distress and well-being were examined prospectively on 112 women with normally progressing, singleton pregnancies between 24 and 38 weeks gestation. At each of 5 visits, conducted in 3-week intervals, women provided a saliva sample and completed questionnaires measuring trait anxiety, depressive symptoms, pregnancy-specific hassles ...

During early pregnancy in sheep, the elongating conceptus secretes interferon-τ (IFNT) and the conceptus as well as endometrial epithelia produce prostaglandins (PG) via PG synthase 2 (PTGS2) and cortisol via hydroxysteroid (11-β) dehydrogenase 1 (HSD11B1). Ovarian progesterone induces and PG and IFNT stimulates endometrial HSD11B1 expression and keto-reductase activity as ...

Many different definitions of the construct of motivational ambivalence have appeared in the literature on reproductive health. Using a theoretical framework in which motivational ambivalence is defined as an interaction between positive and negative pregnancy desires, we propose two hypotheses. The first is that positive and negative pregnancy desires independently ...

It remains unclear whether maternal hypertensive disorders could impact cognitive development of the child. The aim of this study was to explore the association between hypertensive disorders and other maternal biological and social factors on the risk of mild cognitive limitations (intelligence quotient 50-85) in the offspring. An 11.5-year follow-up ...

OBJECTIVE: We tested whether maternal hypertensive disorders during pregnancy predict self-reported cognitive impairment - one of the earliest behavioral markers of dementia - of the offspring seventy years later. METHODS: We included 876 participants of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study 1934-44 born after normotensive, preeclamptic or hypertensive pregnancies defined by ...

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether psychological stress, as well as changes in hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) at different time points during a first in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle, correlates with the reproductive outcome. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted in 264 women undergoing IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm ...

Denmark offers public financed prenatal testing (PNT) to all pregnant women, but results are typically not available until after 12 weeks gestation, which is also the time limit for termination of pregnancy (TOP) on request. Committees decide on requests for later TOP. In a questionnaire survey, we investigated attitudes among ...

Raynaud's phenomenon of the nipple is an unusual cause of severe nipple pain. Precipitants for Raynaud's phenomenon of the nipple are known to be cold temperatures, caffeine, and emotional stress. Nipple pain is quoted as the most common cause of cessation of breastfeeding. It is important that lactation consultants and ...