Prenatal maternal stress and birth outcomes in rural Ghana: sex-specific associations.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In developed countries, prenatal maternal stress has been associated with poor fetal growth, however this has not been evaluated in rural sub-Saharan Africa. We evaluated the effect of prenatal maternal stress on fetal growth and birth outcomes in rural Ghana.

Methods

Leveraging a prospective, rural Ghanaian birth cohort, we ascertained prenatal maternal negative life events, categorized scores as 0-2 (low stress; referent), 3-5 (moderate), and > 5 (high) among 353 pregnant women in the Kintampo North Municipality and Kintampo South District located within the middle belt of Ghana. We employed linear regression to determine associations between prenatal maternal stress and infant birth weight, head circumference, and length. We additionally examined associations b

SUBMITTER: Ae-Ngibise KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6819589 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature