Study links negative couple conflict in pregnancy to more medically complex births

What was said

"And we found that when couples fought more negatively and less positively during pregnancy, >> during pregnancy >> during pregnancy, so you know, they're about 6 months into pregnancy. A few months later, when it's time to deliver the infant, they had more medically complex births. And they also appraised the births as more stressful."

Dr Darby Saxbe says her lab obtained hospital or birth-centre charts after delivery and found that couples who showed more negative and less positive conflict behaviours during pregnancy later had more medically complex births, alongside more stressful birth appraisals. She frames the finding as evidence that couple relationship functioning may be relevant to birth outcomes, not only maternal factors.