Abstract

Objectives: This project aimed to evaluate the correlation between mothers’ mental stress during pregnancy with birth effects.

Method:The subjects were 100 mothers (pregnant women from the city of Isfahan) and their newborns selected through random cluster multistage sampling.The correlation of the mothers’ mental stress during pregnancy was assessed with the newborns’ weight and height,Apgar scores at one and five minutes, size of the babies’ head circumferences, and the length of pregnancy obtained by Mater-nal Stress During Pregnancy and its Resources Questionnaire. Data related to birth effects were collected by Apgar Rating Scale and medical records of the mothers and their newborns. Multivari- ate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Pearson correlation coefficient were used for statistical ana- lysis of data.

Findings: There is a significant correlation between mothers’ mental stress during pregnancy with newborns’ weight and height,Apgar’s score at one minute, size of the babies’ head circumferences, and the length of pregnancy.No significant correlation was obtained between mothers’ mental stress during pregnancy with Apgar’s score at five minute.

Results: Mothers’ mental stress during pregnancy is correlated with birth effects.