Birth complications and parental stress reactions

What is it about?

The current study examined the negative effects of birth complications on parental stress reactions and the moderating role of family coping using a prospective longitudinal design. A total of 56 expectant parents were assessed at 3 time points: during pregnancy, 1 week following their child’s birth, and 6 weeks after their child’s birth. Participants responded to self-report measures regarding characteristics of their child’s delivery and completed measures assessing parental stress reactions and familial coping. As expected, complications from birth and pregnancy significantly predicted increased parental stress 6 weeks after the birth of the child. However, family coping moderated these effects, such that family coping skills buffered the negative effect of birth complications on stress reactions. The findings suggest mental health practitioners could provide an innovative role in perinatal care via assessing and supporting a cohesive and family oriented coping process, which may be especially beneficial in buffering the effects of complicated or otherwise stressful birth experiences.

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