Women's Health Commons^™

The Relationship Between Prenatal Stress, Depression, Cortisol And Preterm Birth: A Review, Kiran Shaikh, Shahirose Premji, Khurshid Khowaja, Suzanne Tough, Ambreen Kazi, Shaneela Khowaj

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Preterm birth is one of the most common adverse pregnancy outcomes. Maternal risk factors such as stress and depression have been associated with preterm birth. Preterm infants are at a higher risk of poor growth and neuro developmental outcomes. The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between maternal stress, depression, cortisol level, and preterm birth. Preterm birth is one of the most common adverse pregnancy outcomes with a global prevalence of 9.6% and one of the major contributors to infant mortality and morbidity. The association between psychosocial stress and preterm birth, although examined for more than 25 …