MATERNAL ATTITUDE TOWARD PREGNANCY AND THE RISK OF NEONATAL DEATH

Objectives. Reduced options for fertility control over the past decade have increased the rates of unwanted pregnancy. We evaluated whether a woman's negative attitude toward her pregnancy increased the risk of perinatal mortality, in a large, prospective cohort study. Methods. T he association between attitude toward the pregnancy and perinatal mor tality was evaluated in a longitudinal cohort study of 8823 married, p regnant patients enrolled from 1959 to 1966 in the Child Health and De velopment Studies. Results. Women who reported during the first trimes ter of prenatal care that the pregnancy was unwanted were more than tw o times more likely to deliver infants who died within the first 28 da ys of life than were women reporting accepted pregnancies. A positive attitude toward pregnancy was not associated with fetal death or post- neonatal death. Conclusions. these data, collected when induced aborti ons were illegal, may have important implications for the 1990s. If ma ternal attitude toward the pregnancy is associated with neonatal morta lity and abortion laws change such that access is restricted, infant m ortality may increase because a greater proportion of births will be u nwanted.