PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Keeley, Robert D.
AU  - Birchard, Alison
AU  - Dickinson, Perry
AU  - Steiner, John
AU  - Dickinson, L. Miriam
AU  - Rymer, Susan
AU  - Palmer, Blake
AU  - Derback, Torri
AU  - Kempe, Allison
TI  - Parental Attitudes About a Pregnancy Predict Birth Weight in a Low-Income Population
AID  - 10.1370/afm.57
DP  - 2004 Mar 01
TA  - The Annals of Family Medicine
PG  - 145--149
VI  - 2
IP  - 2
4099  - http://www.annfammed.org/content/2/2/145.short
4100  - http://www.annfammed.org/content/2/2/145.full
SO  - Ann Fam Med2004 Mar 01; 2
AB  - BACKGROUND Low birth weight remains the primary cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in the United States. We examined whether maternal happiness about a pregnancy, in addition to her report of the father’s happiness, predicts birth weight and risk for low birth weight (<2,500 g). METHODS In this prospective cohort study, the mother’s report of her and her partner’s happiness about the pregnancy was measured before 21 weeks’ gestation on a scale from 1 to10 (1 to 3 unhappy, 4 to 7 ambivalent, or 8 to 10 happy). “Mother reports partner happier” occurred when the mother perceived the father’s happiness score at least 5 points greater than her own. Information on birth weights and maternal sociodemographic, medical, and psychosocial factors were obtained from surveys and medical records. RESULTS Of 162 live births, 9 were low birth weight (5.6%). Compared with women who reported happiness with the pregnancy, risk for low birth weight was greater when the mother reported partner happier about the pregnancy (relative risk 10.0, 95% confidence interval, 3.1–32.4). This predictor of birth weight remained significant in multivariate linear regression analyses (coefficient = −472 g, SE = 171 g, P = .007) after adjustment for other known predictors of birth weight. CONCLUSIONS Maternal report of greater partner happiness about a pregnancy is associated with birth weight and appears to define low- and high-risk subgroups for low birth weight in a low-income population. Further study in larger samples is needed to confirm our findings and to assess whether maternal report of greater partner happiness is itself a modifiable factor or is a marker for other factors that might be modified with targeted interventions.