Coping during pregnancy: a systematic review and recommendations.

ABSTRACT: Extensive evidence documents that prenatal maternal stress predicts a variety of adverse physical and psychological health outcomes for the mother and baby. However, the importance of the ways that women cope with stress during pregnancy is less clear. We conducted a systematic review of the English-language literature on coping behaviours and coping styles in pregnancy using PsycInfo and PubMed to identify 45 cross-sectional and longitudinal studies involving 16,060 participants published between January 1990 and June 2012. Although results were often inconsistent across studies, the literature provides some evidence that avoidant coping behaviours or styles and poor coping skills in general are associated with postpartum depression, preterm birth and infant development. Variability in st

SUBMITTER: Guardino CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3904449 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature