New screening tool helps detect serious anxiety during pregnancy

A new British study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry Open, can help clinicians better detect serious and problematic anxiety in pregnant women.

Although many women experience some anxiety during pregnancy, about 15% of pregnant women suffer from symptoms severe enough to have a negative impact on their daily lives. Evidence suggests that a substantial proportion of women suffering from prenatal anxiety (anxiety during pregnancy) are not detected and, therefore, receive no support.

Currently, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommends using generic tools for screening for anxiety, which may not be sensitive enough for pregnant women. For example, these generic tools cite physical symptoms, such as palpitations or sleep disturbances, which can also be common experiences of pregnancy.

In this new multidisciplinary study, researchers from the health professions research unit in the nursing, midwifery and paramedical (NMAHP-UK) areas of Stirling University in Scotland have identified a number of symptoms that are reliable indicators of prenatal anxiety.

Researchers looked at all the studies conducted over the past 30 years that used anxiety scales in pregnant women and that were considered good or excellent methodological quality. This is the first time that the content and psychometric properties of such studies are systematically evaluated.

Through the badysis, the researchers were able to identify a number of symptoms that have consistently proven to be reliable and valid indicators of prenatal anxiety. These include high levels of worry, symptoms of panic, fear of childbirth and excessive worries about the baby's health, Sinesi said.

"Previous research has clearly shown that prenatal anxiety significantly increases the risk of postnatal depression and may be detrimental to the child's development, both in the short and long term," said Andrea Sinesi, who led the work as part of the program. from his doctorate.

"We also know that existing anxiety scales developed for the general population are unreliable for screening for problematic anxiety in pregnant women."

The symptoms identified by the journal will be part of a new scale being developed by Sinesi and her colleagues.

"The overall goal of the research is to develop a prenatal anxiety screening scale that can be used by midwives and other health professionals to identify women with high levels of prenatal anxiety." anxiety raised during pregnancy, "said Sinesi.

"The identified symptoms are now being used to develop a short and easy-to-use screening tool to identify women with more serious prenatal anxiety – and eliminate women who experience normal pregnancy-related anxiety.

Source: Stirling University

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