Maternal anxiety and childbirth.

The repercussions of the emotional state of a pregnant woman on the course of her labour and delivery and on the state of health of the newborn have been the subject of numerous researches which have yielded contrasting results. The present inquiry was carried out on a group of 34 pregnant women, with the aim of examining the relationship between the emotional state of a woman during pregnancy, on the one hand and, on the other, the course of her labour and delivery, her psychological reaction to it, and the birth weight of her baby.