Stress, Dependency, and Social Support: Who Benefits from Husband's Presence in Delivery?

Husband's presence at delivery was found to limit emotional distress to a greater extent among women giving birth for the first time (high stress) and among women high on dependency needs, relative to women who had previously delivered (moderate stress) and women low on dependency needs. The results were interpreted as indicating that social support is an important social commodity to the extent that it is congruent with personal and situational needs. The importance of the use of objective criteria of stress and social support was discussed.