Psychosocial Predictors of Pregnancy Outcomes in Low-Income Black, Hispanic, and White Women

This study focused on psychosocial risk factors in a population of 208 low-income medically normal women. The total sample had nearly equal numbers of black, Hispanic, and white women. Life stress, social support, anxiety state, and substance use were measured at mid- and late pregnancy. Outcome variables included various pregnancy complications, birth weights, and gestational ages. The predictor variables were usually not significant for the full sample. For black women, social support from the woman's partner or mother accounted for 33% of the variance in gestation complications and 14% of the variance in prolonged labor or cesarean section complications. For white women, high rather than low social support was significant in accounting for pregnancy outcomes and substance use, indicating the the social network might reinforce negative health practices for this group. None of the predictor variables were found to be statistically significant for the group of Hispanic women, who had very low complication rates.