Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To determine the anxiety level of pregnant women according to the trimester of gestation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Observational, analytical and prospective study of a random sample of pregnant women attended in a first level facility of the Ministry of Health (MINSA). Anxiety was assessed with the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS) and its variation according to the trimester of pregnancy with the χ2, Kruskall-Wallis and ANOVA tests.

RESULTS:

The prevalence of anxiety during pregnancy was 69.9% (n = 107) in a sample of 153 patients. Except for the social anxiety dimension (p > 0.05), significant differences were found in the scores of the anxiety dimensions by trimester. They were highest in the first, followed by the third trimester (p < 0.05). The global anxiety score showed different behavior by trimester of pregnancy (ANOVA: p = 0.006), with predominance of higher anxiety in the first trimester followed by the third trimester. Comparison by couples only showed significant differences in anxiety score between the first and third trimester (Tukey test: p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS:

More than half of the pregnant women had anxiety, especially in the first and third trimester and less in the second trimester.