TY - JOUR
T1 - Pregnancy-specific anxiety, ART conception and infant temperament at 4 months post-partum
AU - McMahon, Catherine
AU - Boivin, Jacky
AU - Gibson, Frances
AU - Hammarberg, Karin
AU - Wynter, Karen Hilary
AU - Saunders, Douglas
AU - Fisher, Jane Rosamond Woodward
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Is anxiety focused on the pregnancy outcome, known to be particularly salient in women conceiving through assisted reproductive technology (ART), related to difficult infant temperament?SUMMARY ANSWERWhile trait anxiety predicts infant temperament, pregnancy-focused anxiety is not associated with more difficult infant temperament.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYA large body of research has provided convincing evidence that fetal exposure to maternal anxiety and stress in pregnancy has adverse consequences for child neurodevelopmental, behavioural and cognitive development, and that pregnancy-specific anxiety (concerns related to the pregnancy outcome and birth) may be of particular significance. Women conceiving through ART are of particular interest in this regard. Research over more than 20 years has consistently demonstrated that while they do not differ from spontaneously conceiving (SC) women with respect to general (state and trait) anxiety, they typically report higher pregnancy-specific anxiety. While research suggests normal behavioural and developmental outcomes for children conceived through ART, there is some evidence of more unsettled infant behaviour during the first post-natal year.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONThe longitudinal cohort design followed 562 nulliparous women over a 7-month period, during the third trimester of pregnancy and at 4 months after birth.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSApproximately equal numbers of nulliparous women conceiving through ART (n = 250) and spontaneously (SC: n = 262) were recruited through ART clinics and nearby hospitals in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. Participants completed three anxiety measures (state, trait, pregnancy specific) at time 1 in the third trimester of pregnancy and a measure of infant temperament at time 2, 4 months after birth. At time 1, relevant socio-demographic, pregnancy (maternal age, smoking, alcohol, medications, medical complications) information was recorded and at time 2
AB - Is anxiety focused on the pregnancy outcome, known to be particularly salient in women conceiving through assisted reproductive technology (ART), related to difficult infant temperament?SUMMARY ANSWERWhile trait anxiety predicts infant temperament, pregnancy-focused anxiety is not associated with more difficult infant temperament.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYA large body of research has provided convincing evidence that fetal exposure to maternal anxiety and stress in pregnancy has adverse consequences for child neurodevelopmental, behavioural and cognitive development, and that pregnancy-specific anxiety (concerns related to the pregnancy outcome and birth) may be of particular significance. Women conceiving through ART are of particular interest in this regard. Research over more than 20 years has consistently demonstrated that while they do not differ from spontaneously conceiving (SC) women with respect to general (state and trait) anxiety, they typically report higher pregnancy-specific anxiety. While research suggests normal behavioural and developmental outcomes for children conceived through ART, there is some evidence of more unsettled infant behaviour during the first post-natal year.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONThe longitudinal cohort design followed 562 nulliparous women over a 7-month period, during the third trimester of pregnancy and at 4 months after birth.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSApproximately equal numbers of nulliparous women conceiving through ART (n = 250) and spontaneously (SC: n = 262) were recruited through ART clinics and nearby hospitals in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. Participants completed three anxiety measures (state, trait, pregnancy specific) at time 1 in the third trimester of pregnancy and a measure of infant temperament at time 2, 4 months after birth. At time 1, relevant socio-demographic, pregnancy (maternal age, smoking, alcohol, medications, medical complications) information was recorded and at time 2
UR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23427229
U2 - 10.1093/humrep/det029
DO - 10.1093/humrep/det029
M3 - Article
SN - 0268-1161
VL - 28
SP - 997
EP - 1005
JO - Human Reproduction
JF - Human Reproduction
IS - 4
ER -