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Gestational weight gain (GWG) outside recommended parameters can lead to pregnancy or birth complications. Avoidance coping may influence GWG. We examined the association of avoidance coping with GWG among a sample of 112 pregnant Black women in the Midwest. Participants completed avoidance coping questionnaires at three time points throughout pregnancy. Data were abstracted from medical records for BMI and GWG. Overall, 23.2% gained inadequate weight, 30.4% adequate weight, and 46.4% excess weight. Multinomial logistic regression models indicated associations between avoidance coping and GWG adjusted for covariates. Participants with higher avoidance coping scores at 22–29 weeks’ gestation were more likely to experience excess weight gain (odds ratio [ OR] = 1.19, 95% CI [1.02, 1.37]). Participants with higher avoidance coping scores at 30–36 weeks’ gestation were less likely to experience excess weight gain, ( OR = 0.82, 95% CI [0.72, 0.93]). The impact of higher avoidance coping on excess weight gain depends on the time period in pregnancy.

We explored the associations among perceived stress, depressive symptoms, loneliness, and social support during the COVID-19 pandemic; and differences in perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and social support prior to the pandemic and during the pandemic among pregnant Black women. A sample of 33 pregnant Black women who participated in the Biosocial Impact on Black Births (BIBB) and were still pregnant in May–June 2020 were invited to complete an online survey about their experiences during the pandemic. Fifteen women responded very much or somewhat to experiencing stress and anxiety because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight women had CES-D scores ≥23, which have been correlated with depression diagnosis. Women who reported higher levels of loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic also reported higher levels of perceived stress and depressive symptoms and lower levels of social support during the pandemic. Women who reported lower levels of social support during the pandemic also reported higher levels of perceived stress and depressive symptoms during the pandemic. There were no changes in perceived stress, depressive symptoms, or social support prior to the pandemic and during the pandemic. Clinicians should assess for signs of loneliness and depressive symptoms for pregnant women and offer recommendations for therapy and support groups.

Participation by people of color in research studies is important for generalizability and to mitigate health disparities. Barriers to recruitment are well documented, but less well known is how to succeed. This paper describes successful strategies for recruitment and retention of pregnant Black women for a multisite study of preterm birth. Recruiters provided input on strategies. Participant level strategies include: commitment to being respectful, friendly, and reliable; addressing concerns regarding confidentiality; acknowledging competing priorities; and when possible, matching recruiters by gender and race. Clinical level strategies include: the formation of a good working relationship with the clinical staff; prioritizing clinical care above research activities; and obtaining access to the electronic medical record systems. Protocol level strategies include: a wide enrollment window; coordinating biospecimen collection with the clinical laboratory tests; collecting survey data on an electronic tablet; text messaging; and providing compensation for the time needed to complete study activities.

Pain is a universal, multidimensional experience with sensory, emotional, cognitive, and social components, which is fundamental to our environmental learning when functioning typically. Understanding pain processing in psychiatric conditions could provide unique insight into the underlying pathophysiology or psychiatric disease, especially given the psychobiological overlap with pain processing pathways. Studying pain in psychiatric conditions is likely to provide important insights, yet, there is a limited understanding beyond the work in depression and anxiety. This is a missed opportunity to describe psychiatric conditions in terms of neurobiological alterations. To examine the research into the pain experiences of these groups and the extent to which a-typicality is present, a systematic review was conducted. An electronic search strategy was developed and conducted in several databases. The current systematic review included 46 studies covering five Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) disorders: autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, personality disorder, and eating disorders, confirming tentative evidence of altered pain and touch processing. Specifically, hyposensitivity is reported in schizophrenia, personality disorder and eating disorder, hypersensitivity in ADHD, and mixed results for autism. Review of the research highlights a degree of methodological inconsistency in the utilization of comprehensive protocols, the lack of which fails to allow us to understand whether a-typicality is systemic or modality specific.