Equally at issue is the emphasis on
pregnancy as a stressful, anxiety-provoking
event, despite our cultural perception of
pregnancy as time of joy and contentment.
Recently, such positive emotions have secured
a more visible role in understanding
the role of psychosocial factors in health47–49.
Consistent with this orientation, an optimistic
disposition has been shown to buffer
against both emotional distress and negative
pregnancy outcomes50. Although the original
daily stress scales included uplifts as well
as hassles41, most reports focus on hassles
and do not disseminate (or, perhaps, collect)
uplifts data. There is one report on fluctuations
in non-pregnancy hassles and uplifts
during pregnancy, which indicates that
advancing gestation is associated with greater