Maternal anxiety and maternal–fetal attachment in women having early ultrasound screening for fetal abnormality

Abstract

In order to evaluate the impact of early ultrasound screening for fetal abnormality, it is imperative that the psychological impact of screening is assessed. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a normal early scan on maternal–fetal attachment and anxiety at two stages of pregnancy. Two hundred and thirty-five women participating in a large randomised trial of ultrasound screening at 10–14 weeks’ gestation were recruited; 122 from the scan group with a structurally normal fetus and a low risk [> 1 : 300 of Down syndrome (based on nuchal translucency)] and 113 from the control group. Participants completed a postal questionnaire, incorporating the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety Subscale (HAD-A) and the Maternal Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS), at 1 week after randomisation and at 30 weeks of pregnancy (see Table). All women had a normal 19-week anomaly scan.