Psycho‐Social Factors and Blood Pressure During Pregnancy and Delivery

This research investigates the relationship between repression and blood pressure by using an objective and well‐known test for classifying subjects as repressors (Byrne's R‐S scale), and examines the relationships among socio‐economic level, ethnic origin, and blood pressure. Subjects were 461 Israeli pregnant women who gave birth in urban hospitals. The physiological measures were the highest blood pressure a woman had during pregnancy, as well as blood pressure, heart rate and temperature measured immediately after her admission to the hospital. The women's anxiety level was ranked before and after delivery. No confirmation was found for the psychoanalytically based hypothesis held by several investigators, that subjects with repressive personality type would have higher blood pressure. No significant relationship was found between socio‐economic level and any physiological measure. Israeli Jews of Oriental origin had lower blood pressure than those of European origin, even though the former were of lower socio‐economic level.