Association of stress on eating competence in mothers during pregnancy and six months postpartum

Authors

Ghasem Pour Sara, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie, USA.
Mansoor Ryesa, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, USA.
Akhmadjonova Muzayyana, Department of Neuroscience, University of Wyoming, Laramie, USA.
S Faith Myles, Department of Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology, Graduate School of Education, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, USA.
Lipsky Leah, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, USA.
Nansel Tonja, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, USA.
S Burger Kyle, Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA.
Anna Maria Siega-Riz, Departments of Nutrition and Biostatistics & Epidemiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, USA.
E Grace Shearrer, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie, USA. gshearre@uwyo.edu.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

9-23-2023

Journal

BMC pregnancy and childbirth

Volume

23

Issue

1

DOI

10.1186/s12884-023-06005-6

Keywords

BMI; Eating competence; Postpartum; Pregnancy; Stress

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Perceived stress is related to poor diet quality and unhealthy dietary patterns in women of reproductive age. Eating competence represents a variety of contextual skills reflecting a comfortable and flexible approach to eating and is associated with diet quality and health related behavior. In non-pregnant samples, perceived stress is negatively associated with eating competence. Given that pregnancy and the postpartum period can be periods of high stress, we hypothesized that higher stress in pregnancy would result in lower pregnancy eating competence. METHODS: Women (n = 296, mean BMI = 26.3 ± SD 6.0) in the Pregnancy Eating Attributes Study (PEAS) were recruited from the Chapel Hill, North Carolina area. Perceived stress was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale and eating competence using the ecSatter Inventory at their first trimester and 6-month postpartum visits. We used a mixed effect model to assess the effect of stress by time on eating competence, controlling for baseline pregnancy BMI, race and ethnicity, poverty to income ratio, and WIC status. RESULTS: Perceived stress was negatively associated with eating competence (b= -0.23, SE = 0.06, p < 0.001). The interaction of stress by time was negatively associated with eating competence (b = -0.15, SE = 0.08, p = 0.03), indicating that the association of stress with eating competence was stronger in postpartum than in pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived stress may adversely impact eating competence during both pregnancy and postpartum. Future studies intervening upon stress or eating competence during pregnancy and postpartum may inform potential causal relations.

APA Citation

Sara, Ghasem Pour; Ryesa, Mansoor; Muzayyana, Akhmadjonova; Myles, S Faith; Leah, Lipsky; Tonja, Nansel; Kyle, S Burger; Siega-Riz, Anna Maria; and Shearrer, E Grace, "Association of stress on eating competence in mothers during pregnancy and six months postpartum" (2023). GW Authored Works. Paper 3356.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/3356

Department

School of Medicine and Health Sciences Student Works