| Learning Objective #1: Identify factors related to preterm labor among pregnant Black women | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Discuss the relationship between psycho-social stress and preterm labor among pregnant Black women |
Objective: To decrease stress among pregnant Black women. Design: Longitudinal.
Population, Sample, Setting, Years: Pregnant Black women ages 18-40 less than 15 weeks gestation. July 2000 to March 2002
Variables Studied: Preterm labor, perceived stress, and infant birth weight
Method: One-on-one stress reduction sessions occur at approximately 15, 20 and 25 weeks gestation. Participants complete questionnaires before and after the sessions. Saliva is collected to measure cortisol levels before and after the 1st and 3rd intervention. The intervention lasts 45 minutes and is guided by the Stress Management Workbook in the pregnant woman’s home. Participants maintain a journal about stressful events, and listen to a guided imagery audio tape at least 1st a week. Long-term follow-up data is collected such as birth weight, and gestational age.
Findings: One hundred and nineteen women were enrolled as of March 2002. Thirty percent of the women dis-enrolled due to their inability to keep all three appointments. The remaining women were, on average, 26.3 years old with 13.4 years of education, and a mean annual income of $40K. On average this was the third pregnancy and 63% of women were unmarried. Table 1 shows that the women with 3 visits had greater mean birth weights and gestational ages than those who dis-enrolled. Women with 3 visitsN=44 Women with no visitsN=17 Birth Weight in grams (S.D.) 3337g (623) 3253g (972) Gestation at Delivery (S.D.) 39.1wks (2) 36.6wks (6.8) Table 1. Independent t-test analysis revealed a significant (p=.003) reduction in perceived stress scores and the mean post-intervention cortisol samples did not gain a significant increase relative to the pre-intervention saliva specimens.
Conclusion and Implication: Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. However, the data suggests a reduction in stress and the cortisol levels did not reach their expected 50% increase.
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Sigma Theta Tau International
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