TY - JOUR
T1 - Anxiety, depression, and perceived wellbeing in antenatal women at risk of preterm birth
T2 - A retrospective cohort study
AU - Worrall, Semra
AU - Christiansen, Paul
AU - Carlisle, Naomi
AU - Fallon, Victoria
AU - Khalil, Asma
AU - Shennan, Andrew
AU - Tribe, Rachel
AU - Carter, Jenny
AU - Silverio, Sergio A.
AU - and on behalf of The UK Preterm Clinical Network
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
2024 Worrall, Christiansen, Carlisle, Fallon, Khalil, Shennan, Tribe, Carter, Silverio and The UK Preterm Clinical Network.
PY - 2024/12/6
Y1 - 2024/12/6
N2 - Introduction: Women identified at risk for preterm may be vulnerable to developing mental health difficulties due to the increased likelihood of poor pregnancy outcome and uncertainty surrounding their delivery. Formal assessment of mental wellbeing in specialist preterm birth clinics is not routinely offered, but may offer the opportunity for early intervention. Methods: We aimed to investigate if demographic characteristics and obstetric risk factors were associated with psychological wellbeing in women at risk of preterm birth. We explored associations between mental wellbeing and risk factors for preterm birth using hierarchical regression analyses. Results: When demographic variables were considered alone, high body mass index (BMI) was significantly associated with anxiety (p =.026), however became non-significant when obstetric risk factors were also considered. Previous late miscarriage was associated with high anxiety (p =.049). Lower maternal age at estimated date of delivery (p =.019) and non-European ethnic heritage (p =.029) were significantly associated with depression. High maternal BMI (p <.001), being of any other non-European ethnic heritage (p =.043), currently smoking (p =.002), and previous spontaneous preterm birth (p =.017) were associated with lower perceived wellbeing. Discussion: The results of this study highlight the importance of routinely monitoring mental health in women with relevant risk factors, particularly if they are already at risk of preterm birth.
AB - Introduction: Women identified at risk for preterm may be vulnerable to developing mental health difficulties due to the increased likelihood of poor pregnancy outcome and uncertainty surrounding their delivery. Formal assessment of mental wellbeing in specialist preterm birth clinics is not routinely offered, but may offer the opportunity for early intervention. Methods: We aimed to investigate if demographic characteristics and obstetric risk factors were associated with psychological wellbeing in women at risk of preterm birth. We explored associations between mental wellbeing and risk factors for preterm birth using hierarchical regression analyses. Results: When demographic variables were considered alone, high body mass index (BMI) was significantly associated with anxiety (p =.026), however became non-significant when obstetric risk factors were also considered. Previous late miscarriage was associated with high anxiety (p =.049). Lower maternal age at estimated date of delivery (p =.019) and non-European ethnic heritage (p =.029) were significantly associated with depression. High maternal BMI (p <.001), being of any other non-European ethnic heritage (p =.043), currently smoking (p =.002), and previous spontaneous preterm birth (p =.017) were associated with lower perceived wellbeing. Discussion: The results of this study highlight the importance of routinely monitoring mental health in women with relevant risk factors, particularly if they are already at risk of preterm birth.
KW - Antenatal anxiety
KW - Antenatal depression
KW - preterm birth
KW - pregnancy
KW - wellbeing
KW - mental health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85212704146&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fgwh.2024.1511352
DO - 10.3389/fgwh.2024.1511352
M3 - Article
SN - 2673-5059
VL - 5
SP - 1
EP - 9
JO - Frontiers in Global Women's Health
JF - Frontiers in Global Women's Health
IS - 1511352
M1 - 1511352
ER -
