Stress and preterm labor and birth in Black women.
OBJECTIVE
To examine (a) 3 commonly used measures of stress during pregnancy, (b) changes in stress over time to determine when stress is highest, and (c) whether any of the stress measures predict who will deliver preterm in pregnant Black women.


METHODS
Prospective descriptive study.


METHODS
Perinatal evaluation center and outpatient clinics of a teaching hospital in the northeast.


METHODS
Fifty-nine Black women: 39 were recruited in preterm labor from a Perinatal Evaluation Center, and 20 experiencing healthy pregnancies were recruited from the prenatal clinic.


METHODS
Stress was measured using 2 paper and pencil tests (the Prenatal Distress Questionnaire and the Perceived Stress Scale) and corticotropin-releasing hormone.


RESULTS
There was not a high correlation between stress measures. Stress at 28 weeks as measured by Prenatal Distress Questionnaire and Perceived Stress Scale was at its highest, but corticotropin-releasing hormone increased to 32 weeks and then decreased.


CONCLUSIONS
Perceived stress, prenatal distress, and corticotropin-releasing hormone do not all appear to be measuring the same phenomenon. Screening for stress in Black women at 28 weeks requires further research as perceived stress levels in Black women experiencing preterm labor around 28 weeks differentiated women who delivered preterm infants from Black women who delivered at term.
Gennaro
Susan
S
William F. Connell School of Nursing, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA. susan.gennaro@bc.edu
Shults
Justine
J
Garry
David J
DJ
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009511:New England / Q000453:epidemiology; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000208:ethnology*; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000208:ethnology; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000208:ethnology; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third / Q000208:ethnology; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000208:ethnology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors
D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone