The association between prenatal maternal objective stress, perceived stress, preterm birth and low birthweight

Objective: To evaluate the association between prenatal maternal stress, preterm birth (PTB) and low birthweight (LBW). Methods: Forty-seven women exposed to life-threatening rocket attacks during pregnancy were compared to 78 unexposed women. Women were interviewed within 9 months of delivery regarding socio-demographic background, smoking and perceived level of stress prenatally. Clinical data was obtained from hospital records and information regarding rocket attacks was obtained from official local authorities. Results: Women exposed to rocket attacks during the second trimester of pregnancy were more likely to deliver LBW infants than were unexposed women (14.9% versus 3.3%, p=0.03). No association was found between stress exposure and PTB. A multivariate logistic regression revealed that every 100 alarm increment increased the risk of LBW by 1.97 (adj.OR=1.97, 95%CI 1.05-3.7). Perceived stress was not associated with LBW. Conclusions: Exposure to rocket attacks during the second trimester of pregnancy was associated with LBW. Objective stress can be used as an indicator of stress. Further studies are required to understand the underlying mechanism.