Maternal Psychosocial Risk Profiles in Pregnancy: Associations With Postpartum Maternal Health and Child Outcomes

Abstract

Previous research on prenatal stress and social support has primarily involved variable-centered approaches, with limited knowledge on whether profiles exist, how early childhood adversity experiences predict these profiles, and whether these profiles are differentially associated with maternal and child outcomes postnatally. Using a pregnancy cohort ( N = 1,994), we identify three distinct profiles of maternal stress and maternal social support: low stress–high support (69.4%), moderate stress–moderate support (25.7%), and high stress–low support (4.9%). Mothers in the high stress–low support group experienced more physical/emotional abuse in childhood, whereas mothers in the moderate stress–moderate support group experienced more family dysfunction. The moderate and the high stress groups had poorer reproductive and physical health, and mothers reported their children had poorer developmental outcomes compared with the low stress–high support mothers. Identifying levels of stress and social support in pregnancy and implementing interventions for mothers at risk is crucial in the pursuit to mitigate family-wide deleterious outcomes.