Because pregnancy entails life changes which affect the emotions, behaviors, and physical condition of pregnant women, it represents a rich arena for the study of stress, coping, and their effects. Much of my research has focused on prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) and its impact on birth outcomes (such as birthweight and gestational age at delivery). Through the Stress and Reproduction (STAR) Lab that I direct (see http://you.stonybrook.edu/lobellab/), my collaborators, graduate students, and I are examining factors that exacerbate or attenuate the impact of PNMS on birth outcomes, including health behaviors, coping, socioeconomic status, ethnicity or race, and optimism.