Directed attention in normal and high-risk pregnancy

Objective: To compare the ability to direct attention in women having a high-risk pregnancy with those having an uncomplicated pregnancy. Design: Descriptive comparative. Setting: A tertiary-care hospital. Participants: Women in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy receiving care from perinatologists were recruited for this study and comprised the high-risk group (n= 67). Women in their 3rd trimester of pregnancy with uncomplicated pregnancies and enrolled in prenatal classes were the comparison group (n= 57). Main Outcome Measures: Objective measures of directed attention included digit span forward, digit span backward, Trailmaking A, and Trailmaking B. Subjective measures included the Attentional Function Index and Mental Effort in Tasks. Results: Women having a complicated pregnancy had significantly more difficulty directing attention on all measures than women having normal pregnancies. When all covariates were considered, women having a high-risk pregnancy had significantly more difficulty directing attention as measured by Trailmaking A, Trailmaking B, and Mental Effort in Tasks. Conclusions: Women having high-risk pregnancies may have more difficulty with activities that require directed attention than women having normal pregnancies. Learning new information and skills, problem solving, and planning may require additional effort for women having complicated pregnancies.