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The complex Impact of Five Years of Stress Related to Life-Threatening Events on Pregnancy Outcomes: A Preliminary Retrospective Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2020

M. Keren ,
N. Keren ,
A. Eden ,
S. Tsangen ,
A. Weizman  and
G. Zalsman
M. Keren*
Affiliation:
Child and Adolescent Division, Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tikva, Israel Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
N. Keren
Affiliation:
Child and Adolescent Division, Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tikva, Israel Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
A. Eden
Affiliation:
Barzilai Medical Center, Ashkelon, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
S. Tsangen
Affiliation:
Barzilai Medical Center, Ashkelon, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
A. Weizman
Affiliation:
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tikva, Israel Felsenstein Medical Research Center, Petah Tikva, Israel
G. Zalsman
Affiliation:
Child and Adolescent Division, Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tikva, Israel Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology Division, Psychiatry Department, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Infant Mental Health Unit, Geha Mental Health Center, P.O.B 102, Petah Tiqva, Israel. E-mail address:[email protected] (M. Keren).
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Abstract

Objective:

To study the impact of chronic, life-threatening stressors in the form of daily missile attacks, for five consecutive years, on pregnancy outcomes.

Method:

Charts of deliveries from two neighboring towns in the south of Israel, covering the years 2000 and 2003–2008, were reviewed retrospectively. One city had been exposed to missile attacks, while the other was not. For each year, 100 charts were chosen at random.

Results:

Significant association was found between exposure to stress and frequency of pregnancy complications (P = 0.047) and premature membrane rupture (P = 0.029). A more detailed analysis, based on dividing the stressful years into three distinct periods: early (2003–2004), intermediate (2005–2006) and late (2007–2008), revealed that preterm deliveries were significantly more frequent (P = 0.044) during the intermediate period, as was premature membrane rupture during the late period (P = 0.014).

Conclusion:

Exposure to chronic life-threatening stress resulted in more pregnancy complications and in particular more premature membrane ruptures. The impact was most significant during the middle period of the 5-year-exposure to the stressor. Hence it seems that factors of duration and habituation may play a role in the impact of chronic, life-threatening stressors on pregnancy.

Keywords

Chronic life-threatening stressPregnancy outcomeDifferential impact
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , February 2015 , pp. 317 - 321
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2014

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