Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-2014
Abstract
Pregnancy anxiety is a potent predictor of adverse birth and infant outcomes. The goal of the current study was to examine one potential mechanism whereby these effects may occur by testing associations between pregnancy anxiety and maternal salivary cortisol on 4 occasions during pregnancy in a sample of 448 women. Higher mean levels of pregnancy anxiety over the course of pregnancy predicted steeper increases in cortisol trajectories compared to lower pregnancy anxiety. Significant differences between cortisol trajectories emerged between 30 to 31 weeks of gestation. Results remained significant when adjusted for state anxiety and perceived stress. Neither changes in pregnancy anxiety over gestation, nor pregnancy anxiety specific to only a particular time in pregnancy predicted cortisol. These findings provide support for one way in which pregnancy anxiety may influence maternal physiology and contribute to a growing literature on the complex biological pathways linking pregnancy anxiety to birth and infant outcomes.
Recommended Citation
Kane, H.S., Schetter, C.D., Glynn, L.M., Hobel, C.J., & Sandman, C.A. (2014). Pregnancy anxiety and prenatal cortisol trajectories. Biological Psychology, 100: 13-19. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.04.003
Copyright
Elsevier B.V.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Included in
Maternal and Child Health Commons, Obstetrics and Gynecology Commons, Other Psychiatry and Psychology Commons, Psychological Phenomena and Processes Commons, Women's Health Commons
Comments
NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Biological Psychology. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Biological Psychology, volume 100, in 2014. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.04.003
The Creative Commons license below applies only to this version of the article.