Stress and anxiety in pregnancy

Abstract

Introduction: Pregnancy causes psychosocial changes and every one shows a different reaction. Generally, pregnancy is a high stressful period and pregnant women are very sensitive in this period. This study aimed to define the rate of stress and anxiety in pregnancy in women referred to Isfahan hospitals.

Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. Samples were 301 women that had delivered in the past 24 hours. Data collection was done by a reliable questionnaire that measured stress of life events (Holms and Rahe checklist) as well as a pregnancy related anxiety questionnaire and hospital documents. Data were analyzed with SPSS software.

Results: The findings showed that 19.27% of samples were in middle stress group and 25.58% were in high stress group. Also, 12.29% were in middle anxiety group and 87.21 %were in low anxiety group.

Conclusion: On the basis of the results, educating pregnant women, their families and health managers on stress copping methods, positive and negative emotions in pregnancy and how to react with these emotions are highly suggested.