Stressful events related to childbearing in African-American women

Abstract

This pilot study replicated the Arizmendi and Affonso study that identified the frequency and intensity of stressors related to childbearing.¹ The original study (n = 221) targeted chiefly middle-class white women. To date, there is no literature on stressful events as reported by African-American childbearing women. It was hypothesized that African-American women would identify differential patterns of stressful events in childbearing. A convenience sample of 50 African-American childbearing women were interviewed. Demographics were presented and compared with the original study. The frequency and intensity of stressors were analyzed and compared. It was proposed that the differential stressors between the chiefly white middle-class sample and the African-American sample relates to both the life experiences and the differential birth outcomes of African-American childbearing women. Areas for future research are targeted.