Perinatal Anxiety Symptoms: Rates and Risk Factors in Mexican Women.

Janeth Juarez Padilla,Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo,Laura Navarrete,Ma Asunción Lara

doi:10.3390/ijerph18010082

Abstract

Anxiety during pregnancy and after childbirth can have negative consequences for a woman and her baby. Despite growing interest in the perinatal mental health of Mexican women living in the U.S., perinatal anxiety symptom (PAS) rates and risk factors have yet to be established for women in Mexico. We sought to determine PAS rates and identify risk factors, including the traditional female role (TFR) in a sample of Mexican women. This secondary data analysis is based on 234 Mexican women who participated in a longitudinal study on perinatal depression in Mexico. Anxiety symptoms were assessed in pregnancy and at six weeks postpartum. Rates were determined through frequencies, and multiple logistics regressions were conducted to identify risk factors in the sample. The PAS rate was 21% in pregnancy and 18% postpartum. Stressful life events and depressive symptoms were associated with a higher probability of PAS. Adherence to TFR increased the probability of prenatal anxiety; lower educational attainment and low social support during pregnancy increased the probability of postpartum anxiety. The PAS rates were within the range reported in the literature. The TFR was only associated with anxiety in gestation, highlighting the role of this culturally relevant risk factor. Culturally responsive early interventions are therefore required.

Highlights

IntroductionAnxiety during the perinatal period (pregnancy and first postpartum year) is a global health issue because of its negative consequences for the mother and her baby [1,2,3,4]
Anxiety during the perinatal period is a global health issue because of its negative consequences for the mother and her baby [1,2,3,4]
The analysis showed that higher educational attainment was associated with a reduction in the probability of reporting postpartum anxiety symptoms (OR = 0.84), while women with low social support during pregnancy had almost five times the risk of reporting postpartum anxiety symptoms as women with high social support (OR = 5.60)

Summary

Introduction

Anxiety during the perinatal period (pregnancy and first postpartum year) is a global health issue because of its negative consequences for the mother and her baby [1,2,3,4]. Perinatal anxiety symptoms (PAS) are not always diagnosed or treated, increasing the risks for both. Anxiety has been assessed in individuals of Mexican descent living in the U.S and Mexican women [6,7,8], the prevalence of PAS in Mexico has not been fully studied. Only one study has explored anxiety symptoms in Mexican women. Navarrete et al (2012) found a 14.8% prevalence of anxiety in pregnancy and 10.6% at six weeks postpartum in Mexican women with depressive symptoms [9]. The study did not explore risk factors to explain observed rates because its focus was depressive symptoms

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