Regression analyses for prenatal maternal anxiety and birthweight
First, as shown in Table 2-A, the maternal anxiety score at the
17th week was associated with birthweight. A stronger
association was found for those reporting symptoms in the
30th week. Children exposed to maternal anxiety
prenatally, as reported at both the 17th and
30th gestational weeks, were at higher risk of low
birthweight compared to those not exposed and those exposed only once
during pregnancy. This association was reduced, but remained, after
adjusting for smoking and alcohol consumption. In addition, adjustments
for potential confounders at steps 2 and 3 found the association to be
weaker but still significant.
Sibling-comparison analyses found maternal anxiety to be associated with
low birthweight when reported in only the 17thgestational week and in only the 30th gestational
week. Children exposed to maternal anxiety as reported in both the
17th and 30th gestational weeks were
at the highest risk of low birthweight, even after shared-family
confounding was adjusted for. This association remained robust after
adjusting for smoking and alcohol intake during pregnancy. However, the
association was no longer significant when the birth-related and
socio-demographic variables were controlled for.