Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the psychological impact of maternal serum α-fetoprotein screening on pregnant women with normal results and their male partners. Assessments of anxiety (as measured by the state-trait anxiety inventory) and attitudes toward pregnancy (as measured by the maternal attitude to pregnancy instrument) were conducted sequentially beginning at 16 weeks' gestation in women participating in the maternal serum α-fetoprotein screening with normal results and in women without access to screening. Screened subjects exhibited similar or lower levels of anxiety at each point in time as compared to unscreened subjects. In addition, they exhibited a similar or more positive attitude toward pregnancy. No differences in anxiety were observed between male partners in the two groups. Participation in screening appeared to have no adverse psychological effect on the subjects studied.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 540-543 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | American journal of obstetrics and gynecology |
| Volume | 152 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 1 1985 |
Funding
From the Department of Pediatrics, The Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University. This study was supported by Grant HS-04850 from the National Center for Health Services Research. Received for publication September 13, 1985. Reprint requests: Barbara K. Burton, M.D., Department of Pediat-rics, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, 300 S. Hawthorne Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.
Keywords
- pregnancy
- screening
- α-Fetoprotein
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Obstetrics and Gynecology