A Comparative Study on the Anxiety, Depression, and Maternal-Fetal Attachment of High-Risk Pregnant Women and Normal Pregnant Women

Ko, Si Yeon; Bae, Jin Gon; Jung, Sung Won

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
In this study, we compared anxiety, depression, and maternal-fetal attachment between high-risk pregnant women and normal pregnant women, and investigated whether there was a correlation between anxiety, depression, and maternal-fetal attachment in each group.
METHODS
Two hundred and eleven pregnant women(118 high-risk pregnant women, 93 normal pregnant women) were recruited. All subjects were administered a sociodemographic and obstetric questionnaire, Stait Trait Anxiety Inventory-State(STAI-S), Beck Depression Inventory- II(BDI-II), and Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale(MFAS).
RESULTS
Total score of STAI-S in high-risk pregnant women was 13.704 point higher than that in normal pregnant women(95% CI=10.449-16.959, p<0.001). Also, total BDI-II score in high-risk pregnant women was 5.325 higher than that in normal pregnant women(95% CI=1.850-3.711, p<0.001). There was no significant difference between total MFAS score of normal pregnant women and that of high-risk pregnant women(t=1.594, p=0.112). There was a significant positive correlation between anxiety and depression in both normal(r=0.529, p<0.001) and high-risk(r=0.582, p<0.001) groups. In normal pregnant women, there was a significant negative correlation between anxiety and maternal-fetal attachment(r=âˆ’0.284, p=0.006).
CONCLUSION
High-risk pregnant women experienced more anxiety and depression than normal pregnant women, and the maternal-fetal attachment was not significantly different between the two groups. The higher the level of anxiety of the pregnant women, the lower the degree of maternal-fetal attachment. Psychological support for dealing with the emotional problems of high-risk pregnant women and promoting maternal-fetal attachment is needed.