A measurement model of perinatal stressors: identifying risk for postnatal emotional distress in mothers of high-risk infants.

A measurement model of perinatal stressors was first evaluated for reliability and then used to identify risk factors for postnatal emotional distress in high-risk mothers. In Study 1, six measures (gestational age of the baby, birthweight, length of the baby's hospitalization, a postnatal complications rating for the infant, and Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min) were obtained from chart reviews of preterm births at two different hospitals. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the six measures could be accounted for by three factors: (a) Infant Maturity, (b) Apgar Ratings, and (c) Complications.

Perinatal stressors as predictors of symptoms of posttraumatic stress in mothers of infants at high risk.

We investigated the relationship between the stress of a high-risk birth and the development of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in mothers. Six measures of perinatal stressors (gestational age of the baby, birth weight, length of hospital stay for the baby, a postnatal complications rating for the infant, and Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes) were used to predict the frequency of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Severity of infant complications, gestational age, and length of stay accounted for 35% of the variance in reports of posttraumatic stress symptoms.