ReviewMaternal and child health journal2014
Perinatal distress in women in low- and middle-income countries: allostatic load as a framework to examine the effect of perinatal distress on preterm birth and infant health.
Review in Maternal and child health journal, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 33 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A systematic review of clinical psychological guidance for perinatal mental health.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of intrauterine exposure to SARS-CoV-2 on infants' development: a rapid review and meta-analysis.European journal of pediatrics · 2023Pooled it
- Prenatal allostatic load and preterm birth: A systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Mid-Trimester Allostatic Load and Spontaneous Preterm Birth in a Cohort of Pregnant Women Living with HIV in Zambia.Maternal and child health journal · 2025Trial
- Comparing allostatic load scoring methods and timing: their links to preterm birth outcomes.AJOG global reports · 2026Article
- Perinatal mental health and reproductive behavior among women in wartime Ukraine: a cohort study protocol.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Predictors of psychological distress among postpartum women at a tertiary health institution in Nigeria.Discover mental health · 2025Article
- The role of allostatic load in adverse pregnancy outcomes: a multisystem, developmental perspective.Frontiers in global women's health · 2025Review
- Stress, social support, and racial differences: Dominant drivers of exclusive breastfeeding.Maternal & child nutrition · 2023Article
- The feasibility and acceptability of Project POWER: a mindfulness-infused, cognitive-behavioral group intervention to address mental and sexual health needs of young pregnant women in Liberia.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- Influence of perinatal distress on adverse birth outcomes: A prospective study in the Tigray region, northern Ethiopia.PloS one · 2023Article
- Maternal psychological distress and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at public hospitals, Ethiopia.PloS one · 2023Article
- Sociodemographic Influences on Perceived Stress during Pregnancy: Results from the CCREOH Environmental Epidemiologic Study, Suriname.Women (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Obstetric risk in pregnancy interacts with hair cortisone levels to reduce gestational length.Frontiers in global women's health · 2022Article
- Perinatal Mental Health; The Role and the Effect of the Partner: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Article
- Predictors of Prenatal Depression: A Cross-Sectional Study in Rural Pakistan.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- Comorbid Anxiety and Depression among Pregnant Pakistani Women: Higher Rates, Different Vulnerability Characteristics, and the Role of Perceived Stress.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Racial Differences in the Biochemical Effects of Stress in Pregnancy.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Adverse Childhood Experiences and Changing Levels of Psychosocial Distress Scores Across Pregnancy in Kenyan Women.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), determinants of women's and children's health are complex and differential vulnerability may exist to risk factors of perinatal distress and preterm birth. We examined the contribution of maternal perinatal distress on preterm birth and infant health in terms of infant survival and mother-infant interaction. A critical narrative and interpretive literature review was conducted. Peer-reviewed electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Global Health, CINHAL), grey literature, and reference lists were searched, followed by a consultation exercise. The literature was predominantly from high-income countries. We identify determinants of perinatal distress and explicate changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, sympathetic, immune and cardiovascular systems, and behavioral responses resulting in pathophysiological effects. We suggest cultural-neutral composite measures of allostatic mediators (i.e., several biomarkers) of maternal perinatal distress as objective indicators of dysregulation in body systems in pregnant women in LMIC. Understanding causal links of maternal perinatal distress to preterm birth in women in LMIC should be a priority. The roles of allostasis and allostatic load are considered within the context of the health of pregnant women and fetuses/newborns in LMIC with emphasis on identifying objective indicators of the level of perinatal distress and protective factors or processes contributing to resilience while facing toxic stress. We propose a prospective study design with multiple measures across pregnancy and postpartum requiring complex statistical modeling. Building research capacity through partnering researchers in high-income countries and LMIC and reflecting on unique ethical challenges will be important to generating new knowledge in LMIC.
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