Anxiety of mothers of newborns with congenital malformations in the pre- and postnatal periods^*

ABSTRACT

Objective:

to analyze the anxiety level of the mothers of newborns with congenital malformations who were diagnosed in prenatal and postnatal care.

Methods:

a cross-sectional study with 115 mothers of 117 newborns with congenital malformation admitted to three neonatal units. A questionnaire containing maternal and neonatal variables was used, as well as the Trait-State Anxiety Inventory. Data were analyzed by Student’s t-test and Kolmogorov-Sminorv test. The anxiety level was categorized as low (percentile <25), moderate (25-75) and high (> 75), with a significance level of 5%.

Results:

most mothers had moderate levels of anxiety. Regarding the diagnosis of the malformation, 57% received the news in the prenatal and 43% in the postnatal period. The anxiety level of those who received the prenatal diagnosis was lower than those who received in the postnatal period, evaluated by the Trait Anxiety Inventory (p = 0.026).

Conclusion:

mothers of newborns with malformations presented moderate anxiety, and this was higher when the diagnosis was given in the postnatal period. The use of the Trait-State Anxiety Inventory can provide guidance to other studies and to clinical practice.

Descriptors:
Congenital Abnormalities; Anxiety; Mothers; Newborn; Intensive Care Units; Prenatal Care