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Maternal Allostatic Load During Pregnancy: Predicting Length Of Gestation, Molly Malany Sayre

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

Allostatic load, or the “wear and tear” on the body due to stress, is thought to have a negative impact on length of pregnancy and contribute to health disparities in preterm birth. However, the magnitude of the effect on birth outcomes is unknown, in part due to questions of timing of measurement of allostatic load during pregnancy. This study used linear regression analysis of data from 156 pregnant women to test whether allostatic load is a predictor of length of gestation in the study sample, finding that third trimester allostatic load predicted length of gestation among women with full-term births. …