Study the effect of individual counseling on anxiety in women with an unintended pregnancy Download PDF

Unwanted pregnancy is associated with many complications. Making decisions about keeping or termination of pregnancy is stressful for women, and the mental pressure caused by this situation develops stress for them. This study aimed to determine the effect of individual counseling on anxiety in women with unintended pregnancies. Materials & Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on 90 women with unwanted pregnancies. The participants in the study were selected from eligible pregnant women in the city of Qom by cluster sampling method, and then were randomly divided into two intervention and control groups. In addition to routine care measures during pregnancy, the intervention group received four sessions of individual counseling every 4 to 7 days. Before the first session and four weeks after the last session, the rates of participants' anxiety were measured by Cattle anxiety scale and compared with each other. Results: In this study, the values of mean anxiety scores before intervention had no statistically significant differences with each other (P = 0.678). But, the values of mean anxiety scores after the intervention showed a statistically significant difference in both groups (P = 0.00). The mean of anxiety scores after the intervention had no significant difference in the control group (P = 0.144). However, the mean anxiety score after the counseling showed a significant difference in the intervention group (P = 0.00). Conclusion:The results of this study indicated that individual counseling in the first trimester of pregnancy led to reduced anxiety in women with unwanted pregnancies.