Cortisol reactivity and self-report anxiety in the antepartum: predictors of maternal intrapartal outcomes in gravid adolescents

Abstract

A prospective, longitudinal investigation of the relation between cortisol reactivity, self-report anxiety and labor and delivery outcomes was undertaken in a sample of non-urban pregnant adolescents. Cortisol and anxiety levels obtained in the first half of pregnancy and again in mid-third trimester were found to be related positively to several individual negative labor and delivery outcomes, as well as to a summary score of negative maternal intrapartal outcomes. However, when changes in cortisol and anxiety over pregnancy were examined, greater increases in cortisol and anxiety over time were negatively related to individual negative intrapartal outcomes, as well as to the maternal intrapartal outcomes summary score. Findings indicate that while an assessment of how individuals react to stress at certain points during pregnancy may be predictive of intrapartal outcomes, longitudinal examinations of gravid women's reactivity/anxiety states may be more indicative of their psychophysiological preparation for the intrapartum, and may be more predictive of outcome.