Disparities of Prevalence and Causes of Maternal Antenatal Anxiety among Primigravida Pregnant Women in Egypt
Research Abstract
Background: Pregnancy is а standout amongst the most vital periods in а lady’s life, as it brings along various changes, in the physical aspects, as well as socially and psychologically. Fear of unknown, stress, rootless feeling and everyday issues associated with physical and hormonal changes can much of the time prompt antenatal anxiety. Anxiety is common among pregnant women. Be that as it may, inquire about consideration in the territory of conceptive mental wellbeing has mainly focused on postpartum depression in past decades. Given unfavorable results of antenatal anxiety, there is а dire need to fill the exploration holes. The aims of the present study were to assess the prevalence of antenatal anxiety symptoms and examine the associated causes among primigravida pregnant women. Method: A descriptive approach was carried out at the Egyptian University Hospitals in BeniSuef, El-Fayoum, and Benha from February to April in 2017, with a consecutive sample of 150 pregnant women. Antenatal anxiety was measured using Taylor scale. Chi-Square, Monte Carlo corrected and Fisher’s exact test were performed to evaluate the association of related factors of antenatal anxiety. Results: Most of the pregnant woman feels anxious firstly about factors connected with the pregnant woman herself as prolonged sick leave during pregnancy (94.0%), possible vaginal and perineal trauma (96.0%), and possible cesarean sections (98.0%). Followed by anxiety causes connected to newborn as possible prematurity (92.0%). The results showed that most of the pregnant women manifested anxiety symptoms in the 1st and 3rd trimester of pregnancy and mothers who received secondary or technical educational level. Monte Carlo corrected test analysis revealed that antenatal anxiety showed significant relationship with age (MCP = 0.001), & occupational status (P = 0.0005). Conclusion: The higher level of anxiety was found to be more common in the urban areas, among women with a middle level of education, housewives, and low socioeconomic status. Additionally, pregnant women have high levels of anxiety in 1st and 3rd trimester. Recommendations:It is vital to keep or diminish antenatal anxiety from happening by enhancing the well-being status of pregnant women and reinforcing pre-birth related instruction and mental intervention.
Research Keywords
Disparities, Antenatal Anxiety, primigravida