title: Reduce stress: a stress reduction project for pregnant black women.
abstract: Approximately 12% of pregnant Black women deliver prematurely regardless of their age, education, income, or marital status. Stress has been indicated as a cause of preterm labor. This article reports on a project that evaluated the effectiveness of a community-based project designed to decrease stress among pregnant Black women. The program evaluation revealed that 86 pregnant Black women of various ages as well as educational and income levels had significant (p = .003) reduction in perceived stress, and their mean post-intervention salivary cortisol (a biological indicator of stress) did not show the expected 50% increase. Lessons learned from this community-based project suggest that three one-on-one educational sessions can reduce stress in this population.
authors.affiliation: Ywesley@earthlink.net
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wesley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000379:methods*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone