Susan Ayers, Andrea Sinesi, Rose Coates, Helen Cheyne, Margaret Maxwell, Catherine Best, Stacey McNicol, Louise R Williams, Nazihah Uddin, Judy Shakespeare, Fiona Alderdice
BACKGROUND: For screening for anxiety during pregnancy and after birth to be efficient and effective it is important to know the optimal time to screen in order to identify women who might benefit from treatment. AIMS: To determine the optimal time to screen for perinatal anxiety to identify women with anxiety disorders and those who want treatment. A secondary aim was to examine the stability and course of perinatal anxiety over time. METHODS: Prospective longitudinal cohort study of 2243 women who completed five screening questionnaires of anxiety and mental health symptoms in early pregnancy (11 weeks), mid-pregnancy (23 weeks), late pregnancy (32 weeks) and postnatally (8 weeks)...
February 6, 2024: Journal of Anxiety Disorders