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Stress and arousal during pregnancy and childbirth
Author(s) -
WilsonEvered Elisabeth,
Stanley Gordon
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
british journal of medical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.102
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 2044-8341
pISSN - 0007-1129
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1986.tb02665.x
Subject(s) - arousal , normative , psychology , sexual arousal , pregnancy , third trimester , childbirth , stress (linguistics) , developmental psychology , obstetrics , medicine , gestation , social psychology , philosophy , linguistics , epistemology , biology , genetics
Sixty primigravidae were assessed on the short form of the Stress‐Arousal Adjective Check List (SACL) at the commencement of the third trimester of pregnancy. Fifty‐four of these were also administered the SACL in the labour ward and at three days after birth. On the first assessment the mean levels for the group of mothers were above normative levels of stress but not normative levels of arousal. In labour there was a significant increase in stress accompanied by a significant decrease in arousal. On the third day stress and arousal means were at approximately normative levels. Of those women stressed antenatally, four‐fifths were also stressed in labour and half were stressed postnatally. Correlates of stress and arousal are examined and the utility of the measures discussed.