ANXIOUS AND DEPRESSED AFFECT IN
PREGNANCY
Recent research on symptoms of anxiety and
depression during pregnancy is reviewed similarly
within two subsections distinguishing findings on
PTB from those on LBW.
Affect and preterm birth
State anxiety during pregnancy significantly
predicted gestational age and/or PTB in seven of
11 studies recently reviewed [7&&], but only in
combination with other measures or in subgroups
of the sample. More consistent effects have been
found for ‘pregnancy anxiety’ (also known as ‘pregnancy-
specific anxiety’ and similar to ‘pregnancy
distress’). Pregnancy anxiety appears to be a distinct
and definable syndrome reflecting fears about
the health and well being of one’s baby, of hospital
and health-care experiences (including one’s own
health and survival in pregnancy), of impending
childbirth and its aftermath, and of parenting or
the maternal role [1&&,19]. It represents a particular
emotional state that is closely associated with state
anxiety but more contextually based, that is, tied
specifically to concerns about a current pregnancy.
Assessment of pregnancy anxiety has entailed
ratings of four adjectives combined into an index
(‘feeling anxious, concerned, afraid, or panicky
about the pregnancy [20]’ or use of a 10-item scale
reflecting anxiety about the baby’s growth, loss
of the baby, and harm during delivery, as well as
a few reverse-coded items concerning confidence in
having a normal childbirth) [21]. Other measures
exist as well.