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Using a multidimensional approach to measure stress, this study prospectively examined the influence of maternal stress, social support and coping styles on labor/delivery complications and infant birth weight Beginning in the third month of pregnancy, stress was assessed monthly. In each trimester, data on social support, coping strategies, lifestyle behaviors and pregnancy progress were collected. One month following delivery, information on labor, delivery and infant status was obtained. The final sample consisted of 80 women. The results demonstrated that women who experienced greater stress during pregnancy had a more difficult labor/delivery, even after controlling for parity. Younger maternal age was also linked with intrapartum complications. Perceived prenatal social support emerged as a predictor of infant birth weight Women who reported less satisfaction with their social support in the second trimester gave birth to infants of lower birth weight The results suggest an association between specific psychosocial variables and negative birth outcomes.

This prospective study examines the influence of maternal stress, social support and lifestyle variables reported over the course of pregnancy on subsequent gestational and intrapartum complications. Demographic and biomedical factors were also studied. One hundred and two women were followed on a monthly basis beginning in the third month of pregnancy. Measures of daily stress (hassles), state-anxiety (STAI-state) and pregnancy-specific stress were taken monthly. Pregnancy progress and lifestyle behaviors such as smoking, caffeine and alcohol intake were assessed by trimester. One month following delivery, a telephone interview was conducted to inquire about the labor/delivery and infant status. Sixty-three per cent of the women experienced a pregnancy complication. Three groups consisting of women who experienced gestational complications, intrapartum complications only, and no complications were formed. Women who subsequently experienced gestational complications reported over the course of their pregnancy higher levels of state-anxiety, daily hassles and pregnancy-specific stress beginning in the third month of pregnancy. Women who experienced complications during the intrapartum period only reported higher daily hassles during pregnancy and consumed more caffeinated beverages compared to the other groups. Primiparous women were more likely to experience gestational and/or intrapartum complications than multiparous women. These findings support a role for psychosocial variables in pregnancy complications. The results indicate that certain psychosocial and lifestyle variables may be differentially associated with complications occurring at various phases of pregnancy.

:Surgical simulation is a valuable educational tool for trainees to practice in a safe, standardized, and controlled environment. Interactive feedback-based virtual reality (VR) has recently moved to the forefront of spine surgery training, with most commercial products focusing on instrumentation. There is a paucity of learning tools directed at decompression principles. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of VR simulation and its educational role in learning spinal anatomy and decompressive techniques.