Browsing by Subject "prenatal stress"
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Item The lived experiences of prenatal stress and mind-body exercises: Reflections of post-partum women(2009-03-13) Karen Sue Migl; Judith C. Drew, PhD, RN; Susan Mathew, PhD, RN; Joan C. Engebretson, DrPH, AHN-BC, RN; Carolyn Phillips, PhD, RN; Alice S. Hill, PhD, RN, FAANPrenatal stress experienced by pregnant women has been linked to risky and unfavorable birth outcomes. The majority of quantitative research reports found in the literature consistently make the point that elevated prenatal maternal stress levels are strongly and positively related to pre-term deliveries, low birth weights, and adverse health events that may affect the life of the child forever. While there is substantial quantifiable evidence regarding links between prenatal stress and unfavorable birth outcomes, few qualitative studies have been conducted to explore and describe what pregnant women’s views are about prenatal stress, its effects on birth outcomes, and the women’s preferences for and experiences with stress-reducing techniques. In the absence of risk-free medicinal interventions that can safely mediate prenatal stress levels, clinicians and researchers must focus on gaining post-partum women’s subjective perspectives about what constitutes and defines prenatal stress, what they choose to do about it, and how they determine if what they did effectively lowered their levels of stress.\r\nTo address this gap in knowledge, a descriptive phenomenological approach guided by Giorgi (1985) and Husserl (1964) was used to answer the following research questions: 1) What are the lived experiences of prenatal stress among post-partum women who learned and practiced mind-body exercise (MBE) as a stress-reducing technique during their pregnancies?, and 2) How do post-partum women with previous MBE training describe their lived experiences using this stress-reducing technique during and after their pregnancies?\r\nTen participants’ stories gathered during intensive interviews were analyzed using the Giorgi’s (1985) four-step procedure. The study group’s conscious awareness of prenatal stress as a threat to the health of their unborn babies was the primary source of psychological and cognitive meanings that legitimized the use of MBE during pregnancy and reduced its use post-partum. Situated Structure Statements, General Structure Statements, and General Essential Meanings of Prenatal Stress and MBE are the theoretical findings of this study. Scientific rigor was evaluated using criteria set forth by Burns and Grove (2005). Findings add important and valuable knowledge for clinicians and researchers to use to develop and test alternative and complementary prenatal stress-reducing interventions. \r\nItem The Effects of Prenatal Transportation on Postnatal Endocrine and Immune Function in Brahman Beef Calves(2013-07-25) Price, Deborah MichellePrenatal stressors have been reported to affect postnatal cognitive, metabolic, reproductive and immune functions. This study examined immune indices and function in Brahman calves prenatally stressed by transportation of their dams on d 60, 80, 100, 120 and 140 ? 5 d of gestation. Based on assessment of cow?s temperament and their reactions to repeated transportation it was evident that temperamental cows displayed greater pre-transport cortisol (P < 0.0001) and glucose (P < 0.03) concentrations, and habituated slower to the stressor compared to cows of calm and intermediate temperament. Serum concentration of cortisol at birth was greater (P < 0.03) in prenatally stressed versus control calves. Total and differential white blood cell counts and serum cortisol concentration in calves from birth through the age of weaning were determined. We identified a sexual dimorphism in neutrophil cell counts at birth (P = 0.0506) and cortisol concentration (P < 0.02) beginning at 14 d of age, with females having greater amounts of both. Whether weaning stress differentially affected cell counts, cortisol concentrations and neutrophil function of prenatally stressed and control male calves was examined. At 2 d post weaning, all calves had increased cortisol concentration (P < 0.0001) and neutrophil cell counts (P < 0.0001). However, in vitro production of reactive oxidative species by neutrophils was decreased (P = 0.0002) 2 d post weaning. Moreover, prenatally stressed calves demonstrated a larger (P = 0.0203) decrease in their immune function relative to control calves at 2 d post-weaning. Importantly, prenatally stressed calves took longer than controls to recover from the weaning stress. Additional studies are needed to clarify if prenatally stressed calves are more susceptible than control calves to pathogens during the post weaning period. Management practices to improve animal welfare and livestock production may need modification if follow-up studies demonstrate that prenatal stress also affects reproductive development, growth, performance and meat quality.