Parenting classes are ensure healthier babies at birth
A study showed that a series of short parenting classes can curb the effect of stress on expecting mothers. The classes helped in the babies having optimal weight and having shorter hospital stays.
The classes were developed by Mark Feinberg, research professor at the Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development, Penn State.
“We never thought that a class series meant to help the parents manage the stresses of parenthood would have an impact on birth outcomes as well,” said Feinberg, who developed the classes a decade prior.
The study enlisted 399 couples who were having their first baby. They were first asked to answer a survey to gauge the mothers’ levels of financial stress, anxiety, and depression.
Couples were randomly assigned to the ‘intervention’ or the ‘control’ group. The intervention group attends nine classes—five before and four after birth. The control classes only get mailed reading materials.
“We found that the program buffered the negative influence of financial stress and depression on infant birth weight,” said Feinberg. “We also found consistent evidence across all three risk indicators measured — financial stress, depression and anxiety — that duration of both mother and infant stay in the hospital was reduced for intervention couples compared to controls at higher levels of risk.”
“By reducing low birth weight and length of hospital stay for both mother and infant, these preventive strategies may lead to early savings in health care costs,” said Feinberg. “This demonstrates the power of helping parents cooperate and support each other across the transition to parenthood. Better support and lower levels of conflict between parents have now been shown to benefit parents’ mental health, family relationships and children’s well-being from birth through entry into school.”
The study was published in Maternal and Child Health Journal.
