Body experience differences of women with preterm labor.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether body changes described and evaluated by women with preterm labor differed from those of women with normal pregnancies.


METHODS
Experiences of weight, appetite, activity, and mood change experiences for four sequential time intervals of pregnancy from 41 women with preterm labor and 23 women with normal pregnancies were analyzed using log-linear procedures.


RESULTS
The pregnancies of women with preterm labor were characterized by greater frequencies of worrisome body changes up until the 28th week.


CONCLUSIONS
Preterm labor was discussed as a problem of body image organization. Women with preterm labor have greater difficulty assimilating and accommodating to the body changes of pregnancy. A model of body change for preterm labor pregnancy was described. Study findings emphasized the importance of psychoemotional phenomena in preterm labor childbearing outcomes.
Richardson
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School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
D000339:Affect; D001828:Body Image; D001835:Body Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012307:Risk Factors; D015206:Southwestern United States / Q000453:epidemiology