Prevalence of maternal antenatal anxiety and its association with demographic and socioeconomic factors: A multicentre study in Italy

Abstract

Background. Maternal antenatal anxiety is very common, and despite its short-and long-term effects on both mothers and fetus outcomes, it has received less attention than it deserves in scientific research and clinical practice. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the prevalence of state anxiety in the antenatal period, and to analyze its association with demographic and socioeconomic factors. Methods. A total of 1142 pregnant women from nine Italian healthcare centers were assessed through the state scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and a clinical interview. Demographic and socioeconomic factors were also measured. Results. The prevalence of anxiety was 24.3% among pregnant women. There was a significantly higher risk of anxiety in pregnant women with low level of education (p < 0.01), who are jobless (p < 0.01), and who have economic problems (p < 0.01). Furthermore, pregnant women experience higher level of anxiety when they have not planned the pregnancy (p < 0.01), have a history of abortion (p < 0.05), and have children living at the time of the current pregnancy (p < 0.05). Conclusion. There exists a significant association between maternal antenatal anxiety and economic conditions. Early evaluation of socioeconomic status of pregnant women and their families in order to identify disadvantaged situations might reduce the prevalence of antenatal anxiety and its direct and indirect costs.

Prevalence of Maternal Postnatal Anxiety and Its Association With Demographic and Socioeconomic Factors: A Multicentre Study in Italy

“…Interestingly, using a sample of pregnant women from the same larger study, we found that there was a significantly higher risk of anxiety in pregnant women with poor education, who were unemployed and who had financial problems ( 35 ). Additionally, pregnant women experienced higher level of anxious symptoms when the pregnancy was unplanned, they had a history of abortion or had other children at the time of the pregnancy ( 35 ).…”

The Transition From Maternity Blues to Full-Blown Perinatal Depression: Results From a Longitudinal Study

“…After acceptance, women were asked to complete the Italian version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) (32). At baseline, the following information were collected for all enrolled women: (1) sociodemographic characteristics (age, nationality, educational level, marital and employment status; previous pregnancies); (2) gynecological history (spontaneous or voluntary previous abortions, previous pregnancies, mental disorders during previous pregnancies); (3) clinical information about current pregnancy (vaginal vs. cesarean delivery, presence of obstetric complications during pregnancy including eclampsia, gestational diabetes, epidural analgesia, episiotomy, 1 and 5 min Apgar Score and oxytocin augmentation); (4) psychiatric history (presence of pre-existing mental disorders, drug/alcohol abuse, use of psychotropic drugs); (5) social and contextual factors (relationship with the partner, family conflicts, socio-economic situation, presence of life-time stressors).…”

“…Depressive and anxiety disorders are the most frequent mental disorders occurring in the postpartum period and are associated with a high personal burden for the mother and the newborn (1)(2)(3). Moreover, the onset of depressive and anxiety symptoms is associated with subsequent childhood morbidity in 75% of mothers who have depressive and/or anxiety symptoms with an onset in the perinatal period (4).…”

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal loss among Italian couples: A mixed-method study

“…The results are in line with the literature ( Burki, 2020 ; Roberton et al, 2020 ), which shows that the negative effects of the pandemic on perinatal health are not limited to morbidity or mortality caused directly by the virus, but also by the restrictive measures that undermined social relationships, and thus support, especially inhibiting access to health services. Indeed, the literature has already shown that the pandemic was very stressful for fathers ( Baldoni and Giannotti, 2020 ) and especially for pregnant women, who reported higher levels of anxiety and depression compared to cohorts analyzed in the pre-pandemic period ( Dennis et al, 2017 ; Woody et al, 2017 ; Cena et al, 2020 , 2021b ; Yan et al, 2020 ), partly due to the lack of support from the healthcare system ( Thayer and Gildner, 2020 ). The negative effects of the pandemic on maternal and perinatal health include restrictive measures, disruption of health services, and fear of using these services, which are among the main factors that compromised the physical, psychological, and social wellbeing of participants, similar to those facing pregnancy during the height of the pandemic ( Burki, 2020 ; Roberton et al, 2020 ).…”