Anxiety during pregnancy may cause earlier births: Study

Women who experience anxiety about their pregnancies give birth earlier on average than those who don't, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

The study, which examined the relationship between pregnancy length and different measures of anxiety, could help doctors understand when and how best to screen for anxiety during pregnancy to help prevent preterm birth.

Previous research has found that up to one in four pregnant women has clinically elevated anxiety symptoms and that anxiety can be a risk factor for preterm birth, or birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy. However, those studies have used a variety of measures of anxiety and have looked at both general anxiety and pregnancy-specific anxiety, which includes worries about childbirth, parenting and the baby's health. Researchers have also measured anxiety at different points in pregnancy, from early to late pregnancy and most often in the second trimester.

To sort out these various effects of timing and anxiety type, the researchers examined data from a diverse sample of 196 pregnant women in Denver and Los Angeles who took part in the Healthy Babies Before Birth study.

The researchers found that participants' scores on all three scales of pregnancy-related anxiety were interrelated, suggesting that the scales measure the same underlying thing. They also found that pregnancy-related anxiety in the third trimester was most strongly associated with earlier births.

Reference:

Christine Dunkel Schetter et al, Anxiety in pregnancy and length of gestation: Findings from the Healthy Babies Before Birth Study,Health Psychology