Anxiety through the Three Trimesters of Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a major physical, psychological and social event in women s life.However, instead of being a joyful and exciting time, pregnancy may become a worrisomeevent in some women consequently, aggravating their morbidity. Objective: To assess anxietythrough the three trimesters of pregnancy, in addition to the identification of some associatedfactors. A cross sectional descriptive research design was used to conduct this research.Setting: The present study setting included the three available Maternal and Child HealthCare Centers affiliated to Ministry of Health and Population in Damanhour city, Al-BehairaGovernorate. Subjects: a convenient sample of 300 pregnant women was recruited. Tools:two tools were used to collect the data (Socio demographic data and reproductive history andState Anxiety Inventory (SAI)). Results: The anxiety was present among 62.7% of the studysubjects and level of anxiety is higher among pregnant women during first trimester followedby third trimester of pregnancy. Factors independently associated with anxiety included:unwanted pregnancy, presence of family problems, age, educational level and extended familytype. Conclusion: It can be concluded that, anxiety was experienced by nearly two thirds ofthe study subjects and the first trimester pregnant women had the highest anxiety levelfollowed by third trimester. Recommendations: screening to detect anxiety symptoms must bedone in antenatal care service and special attention should be given to the high risk pregnantwomen.