Comparison of the Effects of Vaginal and Cesarean Delivery History on Anxiety Level in a Current Pregnancy-Case Control Study

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to compare the effects of vaginal delivery (VD) and cesarean section (CS) on anxiety experienced in the subsequent pregnancy. Methods: It was held in Aydın Adnan Menderes University Hospital between 01.06.2013-01.06.2014. Our study is a case-control study. 172 pregnant women were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups CS and VD, according to the type of delivery that occurred in their previous pregnancy. The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) was applied to each patient. The data of the research were evaluated in SPSS v.15 and Minitab v.13.0 package programs. Results: A total of 172 patients were included in our study, including 86 pregnant women who gave birth with CS in their previous pregnancy and 86 pregnant women who had VD. The average age of pregnant women is 28.23. According to BAI results, 50 (29.1%) of 172 patients had mild anxiety, 40 (23.3%) had moderate anxiety, and 14 (8.1%) had severe anxiety. The number of those who did not show any symptoms is 68. According to BAI, the most common finding in patients was irritability (1.0412) and a sense of bad things will happen (1.0765). When examining whether there is a significant relationship between the previous delivery method and BAI scores, a statistically significant relationship was not found in the relationship study performed with the T-Test (p>0.05). Conclusion: Giving birth with a VD or CS does not affect current pregnancy and birth anxiety.