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Abstract
Background: Pregnancy
is a unique period of life
that can overwhelm an expectant
mother with experiences of
psychological ambivalence,
concretized by emotional disturbances,
sudden transitions from exhaustion
to exaltation, or even mixed
anxiety.
Objective:
To determine the prevalence
of pregnancy-related anxiety
and its associated factors
among pregnant women.
Methods:
We followed the Preferred
Reporting Items for Systematic
Reviews and Meta-Analyses
(PRISMA) guidelines. A structured
literature review was carried
out using the component of
the PICO framework. The literature
search was conducted in Medline,
Ovid, Embase, Google Scholar,
and PubMed. A combination
of relevant search terms was
used. Electronic searches
were supplemented by manual
searches of references of
included studies and review
articles. The duplicate citations
were identified and removed.
Results:
A total of 69 articles were
identified through the searches,
while 13 articles met the
inclusion criteria. The characteristics
and results of included studies
were discussed, regarding
the study design, screening
tools, prevalence, onset,
and risk factors of pregnancy-related
anxiety.
Conclusions:
Anxiety disorders are common
during pregnancy. There is
wide variability in its measurement,
with a subsequently wide range
in reported prevalence rates.
Several risk factors are associated
with pregnancy-related anxiety,
such as younger age, low income,
past history of stillbirth,
unwanted pregnancy, current
comorbidity, or mental illness.
Key
words: Pregnancy, anxiety,
onset, prevalence, risk factors,
systematic review, PRISMA.
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