title: Maternal positive affect over the course of pregnancy is associated with the length of gestation and reduced risk of preterm delivery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The association between maternal psychological state during pregnancy and birth outcomes is well established. The focus of previous studies has been on the potentially detrimental consequences of maternal stress on pregnancy and birth outcomes, particularly shortened gestation and increased risk of preterm birth. Despite a growing literature linking positive affect with favorable health outcomes this construct has received little attention in the context of pregnancy. Therefore, in the current study, we tested the hypothesis that maternal positive affect during pregnancy is associated with beneficial consequences in terms of increased length of gestation and reduced risk of preterm birth above that of the absence of stress.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 169 pregnant women maternal positive affect and perceived stress were serially assessed at 15.2 ± 0.9 weeks (T1; mean ± SD), 19.7 ± 0.9 weeks (T2) and 30.7 ± 0.7 weeks (T3) gestation. Pregnancy and birth outcomes were abstracted from the medical record.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher maternal positive affect and a steeper increase in maternal positive affect over pregnancy were positively associated with length of gestation (p<.05) and reduced risk of preterm delivery (p<.01), whereas maternal perceived stress was not significantly associated with shorter length of gestation (p>.10).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that maternal positive affect may be beneficial for outcomes related to the length gestation, and that this effect cannot be accounted for by the lower stress levels associated with higher positive affect. Interventions to increase maternal positive affect may be beneficial for fetal development.
authors.affiliation: University of California, Irvine Development, Health, and Disease Research Program (DHDRP), 333 The City Drive West, Suite 1200, Orange, CA, USA; Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Center for Specific Psychotherapy, CBT Unit, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Voellmin
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Entringer
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Moog
authors.forename: Pathik D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Wadhwa
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Buss
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016015:Logistic Models; D017533:Marital Status; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology*; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000517:prevention & control
keywords: Length of gestation; Positive affect; Positive psychology; Preterm birth; Psychosocial stress; Resilience