The Relationship of Pregnancy Planning Status with Perception of Risk and Anxiety During Pregnancy: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Aims: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship of pregnancy planning status with perception of risk and anxiety during pregnancy. Material and Methods: The sample for the cross-sectional study formed from 268 pregnant women applied to a hospital in eastern Turkey. The data were obtained using the "Personal Information Form," the "London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy (LMUP)," the "Perception of Pregnancy Risk Scale (PPRS)," and the "Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Scale-Revision-2 (PRAS-R2)." In statistical analysis, the percentage distribution, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, Cronbach's alpha, t test in independent groups, and Pearson correlation analysis were utilized. Results: The proportion of women who planned to have a baby was found to be 77.2%. The mean total PPRS and PRAS-R2 scores of the women with planned pregnancies were 30.21±16.63 and 27.79±7.72, respectively, and the difference between the groups was determined to be significant (p=0.000). The mean total PPRS and PRAS-R2 scores of the women who had an unplanned pregnancy were 40.71±11.80 and 32.49±5.59, respectively, and the difference between the groups was determined to be significant (p=0.000). According to the correlation analysis, there was a weakly significant positive correlation between the mean total scores of women with planned and unplanned pregnancies on the GRAS and GAS-R2, and as the level of perceived risk of pregnancy increased, so did the level of pregnancy-related anxiety. Conclusion: It was found that women with unplanned pregnancies had a higher degree of risk perception and anxiety during pregnancy, and that the level of pregnancy-related anxiety rose as the level of risk perception increased.