Does parity and labor influence anxiety levels of pregnant women?

Objective: Our aim for this study is to examine state anxiety levels in the prenatal period in the presence of different forms of parity and birth types. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to collect the results of pregnant woman which has different parities and type of deliveries in our tertiary center between June and December 2013. 186 cases were divided into 3 groups. Group 1 (n=60) consists of primiparous pregnant women who are expected to give birth spontaneously, Group 2 (n=64) consists of multiparous pregnant women whose will be their second birth with spontaneous vaginal delivery and Group 3 (n=62) consists of elective cesarean section and second-trimester pregnant women. State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) analysis was made during antenatal pregnancy follow-up at 37 weeks of gestation. Results: When patients were divided into groups of normal, mild anxiety, moderate anxiety and severe anxiety, 124 (66.6%) of the patients were found to be anxious. In the group of anxious patients, it was found that 95.9% of the patients had mild anxiety. No patient is severely anxious. Especially in Group 1, the patient ratio was higher than the other groups with 85%. In Group 3, it was shown that the majority of the patients (50%) evaluated as normal compared to other groups. Conclusion: The anxiety levels of pregnant women are generally mild and women who have already experienced birth and did not experience pain have reduced anxiety levels.