The Effect of Education on Perceived Stress and Anxiety in High Risk Pregnant Women Awaiting for Amniocentesis: a Quasi-experimental Study

Amniocentesis is the most common invasive method used for diagnosis of genetic disorders. Studies showed that women with insufficient information about amniocentesis have high level of anxiety. The present study was performed to evaluate the impact of education on perceived stress of women referring for amniocentesis.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 62 pregnant women referring to Alzahra hospital, Tabriz, Iran for amniocentesis from March 2019 to January 2020. Using block randomization, the subjects were assigned to two groups of 31 women for each group. The intervention group received an oral and face-to-face individual training session. Perceived Stress Scale and Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were completed before and 2 to 3 weeks after amniocentesis (before receiving results). ANCOVA and repeated measures ANOVA were used for data analysis.

The mean score of perceived stress before, after the intervention and 2 to 3 weeks after amniocentesis was 25.25±7.49, 23.87±7.40 and 24.45±7.09, respectively. The mean score of state anxiety were 43.84±10.03, 42.35±11.13 and 41.67±11.24, and trait anxiety were 42.53±10.56, 39.19±9.35 and 41.29±10.40, respectively. After the intervention, with adjusting the baseline scores, significant difference was found between two groups regarding stress (P=0.020), state anxiety (P=0.029) and trait anxiety (P=0.002), but 2 to 3 weeks after amniocentesis, no difference was observed in terms of perceived stress (P =0.198), state anxiety (P =0.394) and trait anxiety (P =0.516).

Positive short-term effect of education was seen on perceived stress and anxiety of women referring for amniocentesis. It is recommended to perform more trials to assess its long-term effects.