The Effects of e-Learning about Fetal Screening Tests on the Level of Anxiety and Worry in Pregnant Women

Congenital malformations are important causes of neonatal mortality and morbidity. They can be prevented by performing screening tests and accurate treatment schedules in pregnancy period. Screening tests may cause anxiety in pregnant women. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of e-learning about fetal screening tests on anxiety in pregnant women.

This was a quasi-experimental study performed on 120 pregnant women of 7 to 9 weeks gestational age who referred to health centers in Zahedan City, Iran, during the year 2020, to receive prenatal care randomly in two groups of intervention and control. In the intervention group, the training was conducted in the form of 7-minute animation in groups of 5-10 people; the animation was sent to their mobile cells as well. While the control group received only routine pregnancy care. Before and 2 weeks after training, anxiety and worrying of pregnant women were assessed using Spielberger Anxiety Questionnaire and Cambridge Worry Scale (CWS). Data were analyzed using chi-square, independent t, and ANCOVA tests.

The defiance of mean anxiety score of pregnant women in the two groups before e-learning was not significant (P = 0.920). Independent t-test showed that after performing e-learning about fetal screening tests, the mean score of anxiety in women in the intervention group was significantly lower than the control group (P = 0.001). Moreover, the mean score of anxiety in the intervention group after e-learning of fetal screening tests decreased significantly (P = 0.001).

The study showed that e-learning in the form of animation in the intervention group significantly reduced anxiety and worrying in pregnant mothers.