ABSTRACT
Pregnancy and childbirth are considered stressful life events (Dohrenwend & Dohrenwend, 1974; Holmes & Rahe, 1967) or at least as experiences with crisis potential (Teichman, 1988). The stress is caused by physiological, psychological, and interpersonal experiences as well as by the close association with the medical profession and medical settings. As in many other stresses, investigators have attempted to determine factors that influence the way pregnant women deal with the stress. The most investigated factors have been social support and information. The study of individual differences has received less attention. Research on social support has focused mainly on support from the husband during pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenthood. As can be expected, women whose husbands are supportive manifest less anxiety, tension, and pain and report less complaints and more enjoyment (Huttel, Mitchell, Fischer, & Meyer, 1972; Norr, Block, & Charles, 1977). The topic of social support is not addressed in this chapter. As far as information was investigated, it applied to information obtained in childbirth preparation courses. Generally, findings indicate that such information is associated with less anxiety, less medication, and greater satisfaction (Davenport-Slack & Boylan, 1974; Klusman, 1975; Zax, Sameroff, & Farnum, 1975). We suggest that the ultrasound scanning during the first trimester of pregnancy can be considered as an additional source of information to the pregnant woman. This procedure provides information about the course of pregnancy and fetal sex. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the influence of a general state of information versus no information. The impact of particular information, especially regarding the sex of the fetus, was presented elsewhere (Teichman, Rabinowitz, & Rabinowitz, 1988).
