Abstract
Data derived from the medical registration of births in Norway during 1967 and 1968 have been utilized in a study of the course and outcome of 388 pregnancies in women reporting to suffer from conditions classifiable as neuroses. Comparison is made with 112 530 pregnancies in women reporting no disease.
It is found that women with neuroses more often experience pregnancy complications, labour difficulties and premature labour, and that their babies have a higher mortality and a higher frequency of congenital malformation, low birth weight and hypoxia.
The findings suggest that comprehensive care, both psychiatric and obstetric, is needed to lower the risk in these women and their infants.