Prevalence of Maternal Anxiety During Pregnancy among women living suburb of Tabriz

Abstract

Pregnant women who live in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas experience more psychosocial distress and have less support to cope with stress, resulting in adverse pregnancy outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of anxiety during pregnancy in the population of women in suburbs of Tabriz. Method: present study is a descriptive study. sampling method was random cluster sampling. Patients' information was collected based on a pre-prepared questionnaire. Also, the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS) was used to evaluate the anxiety level of the patients. Finally, the prevalence of anxiety among patients was evaluated. Results; 323 pregnant women from 19 health centers on the suburbs of Tabriz (17 people in each) were examined. average age was 27.63 ± 6.95 years. average weeks of pregnancy was 24.89±9.75. 63% of women were in the lowest level of anxiety (no anxiety). 26.9% experienced moderate anxiety and 9.3% experienced severe anxiety. Thus, the overall prevalence of moderate or severe among the studied pregnant women was 37.2%. There was no significant difference in level of anxiety based on time of pregnancy. The only factors related to the level of anxiety were family income level, previous history of pregnancy and delivery. The prevalence of anxiety among women with insufficient income, previous history of pregnancy or delivery was higher than other women.