Abstract
BackgroundStudies showed that decreased marital satisfaction and increased risk of depression and anxiety were mutually related. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of communication skills training with a couple focused approach on marital satisfaction and psychological symptoms among pregnant women.MethodsThis experimental study was performed on 60 pregnant women with low marital satisfaction who were divided into two groups of intervention and control. The women in the intervention group and their husbands participated in a communication training program based on the couple focused approach. The levels of anxiety, depression, and marital satisfaction were evaluated before and then one and three months after the intervention using valid questionnaires.ResultsThe results indicated that after the intervention, compared to the pre-intervention period, the levels of marital satisfaction increased while the levels of depression and anxiety decreased significantly in the intervention group (p < 0.05). The comparison of the groups revealed significant differences in the scores of marital satisfaction, depression, and anxiety in the intervention and control groups at the intervals of one month and three months after the intervention (p < 0.05).ConclusionsThe research findings indicated that communication skills training program based on the couple focused approach and an emphasis on the needs of pregnant women during the pregnancy can improve the marital satisfaction and psychological health of pregnant women.Trial registrationIranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT2017012932264N2, Date of registration: 2017-06-28 Retrospectively registered.
Highlights
Studies showed that decreased marital satisfaction and increased risk of depression and anxiety were mutually related
Of the 60 participants of the study, 6 subjects were excluded from the study that was due to their failure in completing the questionnaires and not attending more than 30% of the training sessions in the intervention group (Fig. 1)
The Kolmogorov test results showed that the scores of depression, anxiety, and marital satisfaction variables had a normal distribution
Summary
Studies showed that decreased marital satisfaction and increased risk of depression and anxiety were mutually related. Physical and psychological changes in women during pregnancy and the transition to the parenthood period pose new challenges and may be followed by poor relationship between the spouses and may reduce the quality of marital relationship [1, 2]. These circumstances can lead to development of psychological disorders in pregnant women, including depression and anxiety [3]. The existing evidence shows that pregnancy depression is associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia and preterm labor as well as low birth weight [4,5,6]. Efforts for modifying the factors that can improve women’s mental health are important in ensuring maternal and child health
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