We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Poor Psychosocial Support Raises the Odds of Having An Underweight Infant.
- Authors
Hollander, D.
- Abstract
Women whose psychosocial resources are inadequate to help them cope with the stresses of a first birth may have an elevated risk of bearing an infant who is small for gestational age, according to results of a Swedish prospective cohort study. Among a sample of women who had a first birth in the early 1990s, those who participated little in social activities and those who had limited access to advice and information were 2-3 times as likely as women with greater psychosocial resources to have an underweight infant. A total of 826 women who had a singleton live birth were included in the analyses. Most were in their 20s (70%), had been born in Sweden (78%), were living with a partner or spouse (88%), and had had 12 or fewer years of schooling (61%). Thirty percent smoked; 18% smoked at least 10 cigarettes daily. While the researchers conclude that psycho-social factors appear to influence fetal growth, they note that the mechanism in denying the association is unclear. The effects may be indirect, operating through unhealthy behavior, such as smoking or drinking.
- Subjects
SWEDEN; LOW birth weight; PSYCHOLOGICAL factors; GESTATIONAL age; CHILDBIRTH; SMOKING
- Publication
Family Planning Perspectives, 2000, Vol 32, Issue 3, p150
- ISSN
0014-7354
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/2648169