Anxiety is more commonly experienced by women than
men, and becomes a unique and difficult problem to manage
when pregnancy is involved. Anxiety disorders are the most
prevalent class of psychiatric disorders in America, with the
most common types being obsessive-compulsive disorder
(OCD), phobias, panic disorder (PD), post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and
social anxiety disorder (The National Alliance on Mental Illness
[NAMI], 2012). In the pages that follow, anxiety during
pregnancy (i.e., antenatal anxiety) will be examined along
with potential options for management.