TY - JOUR
T1 - Anxiety and epinephrine in multiparous women in labor
T2 - Relationship to duration of labor and fetal heart rate pattern
AU - Lederman, Regina P.
AU - Lederman, Edward
AU - Bruce, Work
AU - McCann, Daisy S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Supported by Grant 7 R01 NV 00931 from the Division of Nursing, Health Resources Administration, United States Public Health Service.
PY - 1985/12/15
Y1 - 1985/12/15
N2 - The duration of labor in multigravid subjects in phase 1 labor at term (from 3 to 6 cm of cervical dilatation; mean duration = 2.7 hours) was significantly related to measures of plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine obtained at the onset of the phase (n = 50). Epinephrine was significantly related to observer ratings of subject stress and the scores from the three dimensions of our self-report Labor Anxiety Inventory. The fetal heart rate pattern in phase 2 labor (7 to 10 cm of cervical dilatation; mean duration = 1.2 hours) was significantly related to phase 1 measures of epinephrine, observed stress, and two of the anxiety dimensions (n = 44 to 47). The results provide support for the hypotheses that, under normal clinical conditions, several types of patient anxiety are related to catecholamine levels and that anxiety and epinephrine are related to duration of labor and fetal well-being. The results suggest that medical/nursing evaluation and management of patient anxiety should include a self-report measure of three dimensions of anxiety (coping, safety, and pain), which are relatively independent of observed physical stress and which may relate to maternal labor progress as well as fetal heart rate pattern.
AB - The duration of labor in multigravid subjects in phase 1 labor at term (from 3 to 6 cm of cervical dilatation; mean duration = 2.7 hours) was significantly related to measures of plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine obtained at the onset of the phase (n = 50). Epinephrine was significantly related to observer ratings of subject stress and the scores from the three dimensions of our self-report Labor Anxiety Inventory. The fetal heart rate pattern in phase 2 labor (7 to 10 cm of cervical dilatation; mean duration = 1.2 hours) was significantly related to phase 1 measures of epinephrine, observed stress, and two of the anxiety dimensions (n = 44 to 47). The results provide support for the hypotheses that, under normal clinical conditions, several types of patient anxiety are related to catecholamine levels and that anxiety and epinephrine are related to duration of labor and fetal well-being. The results suggest that medical/nursing evaluation and management of patient anxiety should include a self-report measure of three dimensions of anxiety (coping, safety, and pain), which are relatively independent of observed physical stress and which may relate to maternal labor progress as well as fetal heart rate pattern.
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U2 - 10.1016/0002-9378(85)90692-1
DO - 10.1016/0002-9378(85)90692-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 4073158
AN - SCOPUS:0022409181
SN - 0002-9378
VL - 153
SP - 870
EP - 877
JO - American journal of obstetrics and gynecology
JF - American journal of obstetrics and gynecology
IS - 8
ER -