Scholarly record

ANXIETY SYMPTOMS OF PREGNANT WOMEN

L. Mazuchova, S. Kelcikova, PhD., Z. Dubovicka

Abstract

Introduction: Pregnancy is a period that imposes intense requirements on womenВ’s bodies. Anxiety is a very common problem of a pregnant women. It results from indefinite reasons and feelings, which are typical for pregnancy. The aim of the study was to investigate the anxiety symptoms of pregnant women. Methods: A standardized questionnaire, the Beck Anxiety Scale (BAI), was used as an exploratory method to measure symptoms of anxiety in pregnant women. CronbachВ’s ? for the BAI was 0.68. The participants were 304 pregnant women with physiological pregnancy and an average age 27 В± 4.95 years. The results were evaluated using descriptive statistics, the Pearson correlation coefficient and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: Evaluation of the BAI showed that most of the respondents (50.66%) had just mild symptoms of anxiety, 26.97% displayed moderate symptoms of anxiety, 10.53% presented severe symptoms of anxiety and 11.84% had no anxiety at all. Age, parity and trimester of pregnancy were found not to have statistically significant effects on anxiety symptoms in pregnant women. Conclusions: The incidence of anxiety disorder requires early diagnosis and intervention by midwives in primary health care as well as timely measures to prevent anxiety during pregnancy.

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