This dissertation examined the relationship between maternal stressful
life events and urogenital infection in preterm birth. A systematic literature
review revealed ambivalent findings concerning the relationship between
maternal stress and infection during pregnancy; the effects of this relationship
on pregnancy outcome were not examined in the reviewed studies. The current
study employed a biobehavioral model consisting of maternal stressful life
events (illness among family members, divorced, moved, became homeless,
partner lost job, mom lost job, argued with partner more than usual, partner did
not want the child, inability to pay bills, got in a physical fight, partner went to
jail, close friend/relative had a bad problem with drinking or drug use, and close
friend/relative died) and urogenital infection (genital warts, herpes, chlamydia,
gonorrhea, pelvic inflammatory disease, syphilis, Group B streptococcus,
bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis, yeast infection, urinary tract infection, and other infection) to examine the relationship between these variables in preterm
birth. Data from 1,647 respondents of the 2005 Florida Pregnancy Risk
Assessment Monitoring System survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics,
chi-square and student t- tests, analysis of variance, and structural equation
modeling (SEM). Of the respondents, 42% were White, 37.8% had preterm
deliveries, and the mean age was 27.1 years. White mothers who became
homeless (p = 0.021) or had a partner in jail (p = 0.041) during the 12 months
prior to delivery had more preterm deliveries as compared to full-term
deliveries. Other non-White mothers who had an ill family member (p = 0.010)
had fewer preterm deliveries. In general, mothers diagnosed with Group B
streptococcus during pregnancy (p = 0.031) had fewer preterm deliveries. Black
mothers diagnosed with herpes (p = 0.006) had fewer preterm deliveries. SEM
revealed a significant relationship between maternal stress and infection, in
general (p < 0.001), and among White (p < 0.001), Black (p < 0.001), and
Hispanic (p < 0.001) mothers. The interaction between these variables was not
significant, in general, or among racial/ethnic groups. Results of this study
indicate that culturally tailored prevention programs designed to help women
cope with multiple risk factors may prove beneficial in reducing preterm birth
rates.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2975 |
| Date | 2008 August 1900 |
| Creators | Anderson, Joy Lavonne |
| Contributors | Misra, Ranjita |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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