Associations of intrauterine growth restriction among term infants and maternal pregnancy intendedness, initial happiness about being pregnant, and sense of control

Abstract

Objective: Term infants (> or =37 weeks' gestation) who weigh <2500 g have intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and have a higher risk of mortality and morbidity. Little is known about how psychosocial factors affect the risk of IUGR. We examined the association between IUGR and maternal pregnancy intendedness, initial happiness about becoming pregnant, and maternal sense of control.

Methods: We analyzed data from a survey of California mothers aged > or =15 years with term live births in 1999 and 2000 (N = 5961). Mothers were asked about pregnancy intendedness before pregnancy, initial happiness about becoming pregnant, and maternal sense of control, assessed by a standardized scale. We examined the association of having an infant with IUGR and these factors in univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results: Mothers with low sense of control (3.0%) and average sense of control (2.7%) were more likely to have an infant with IUGR than mothers with high sense of control (1.8%; odds ratio: 1.8; 95% confidence interval: 1.2-2.9; and odds ratio: 1.6; 95% confidence interval: 1.0-2.5). After multivariate analysis, we found no significant association between sense of control and IUGR. We also found no significant association between IUGR and pregnancy intendedness and happiness about becoming pregnant.

Conclusions: We found no statistically significant association between IUGR and maternal pregnancy intendedness, initial happiness about becoming pregnant, and maternal sense of control. Although research should continue to explore associations between psychosocial factors and IUGR, prenatal care programs should focus on known risk factors for IUGR.