Anxiety in pregnancy and its relation to use of oxytocin and analgesia in labour

Summary

Anxiety in pregnancy has been studied in 249 primiparous Caucasian women, using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The level of anxiety was assessed on three occasions during pregnancy. The tendency to anxiety (trait) decreased from 16 to 28 weeks of pregnancy. In addition, anxiety in response to the situation (state) decreased significantly in the second trimester but increased again in the third trimester of pregnancy. Higher levels of anxiety were found during pregnancy in those women who were subsequently given oxytocin augmentation in spontaneous labour than in those who were not. In addition, high levels of anxiety were found in those who subsequently had epidural analgesia.