Perceived Stress as a Predictor of Partnership Relation Quality in Polish Mothers of Preterm-Born Children

Abstract

The aim of the study was to identify whether perceived stress and significant life changes are related with partnership relation quality in mothers of preterm-born children. The study group consisted of 260 women, who gave a preterm birth. In most cases the delivery took place in the 34–36th week of pregnancy. The research consisted of two phases. Phase 1 was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics at the Medical University of Gdansk in the neonatal period (2–3 days after birth). Phase 2 was carried out in the place of residence of the mother and child during early childhood (24–30th month of the child’s life). The following research tools were used in the first phase of the research project: Analysis of nursing and medical reports, an interview questionnaire and psychological interview, The Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) (Lavenstein, the Polish version, after Plopa, 2008), The Recent Life Changes Questionnaire (RLCQ) (Rahe and Holmes, 1975), the Polish version, after Terelak 1995), and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) (Spanier, 1976, the Polish version, after Cieślak, 1989). In the second phase of the study the respondents were once again examined using the DAS. It was shown that stress is related to partnership relationship quality and of all its components, except cohesion. The findings demonstrated that important life events are associated with a couple’s emotional expression in the neonatal period. Stressful life events do not correlate with relationship quality.

Socio-family support for parents of technology-dependent extremely preterm infants after hospital discharge

“…In contrast with other studies, our participants experienced the strengthening of marital relationships (Kim, 2018). Bidzan and Lutkiewicz (2019) demonstrated that stressful situations are not associated with the quality of the relationship. Similar to the findings of other studies, social support tends to pay more attention to mother than father, leading to the disconnection of father from care of extremely preterm infant (Kim, 2018).…”

Hair Cortisol Concentrations as a Biomarker to Predict a Clinical Pregnancy Outcome after an IVF Cycle: A Pilot Feasibility Study

“…Additional biomarkers responsible for the transfer of psychological stress could also be included, such as oxidative stress, cytokines, gut microbiota, serotonin/tryptophan, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and catecholamines [51]. Further research is also needed to analyze the effectiveness of psychological interventions in reducing anxiety, depression [52], and chronic stress and their subsequent impact on IVF treatment outcomes and pregnancy [14,30,53].…”

The Dynamics of Becoming a Mother during Pregnancy and After Childbirth

“…When considering issues regarding pregnancy and childbirth, it is important to consider perinatal depression. This disease affects about 10-15% of women [19][20][21][22][23][24]. Therefore, this issue was taken into account in our research and depression was a controlled variable in this study.…”