The Association between Maternal Lifestyle and Antenatal Anxiety among Pregnant Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Antenatal anxiety is one of the most common problems during pregnancy. Identifying the effective factors in reducing antenatal anxiety is one of the ways to mitigate the negative consequences. Objective: The present study aimed to determine the association between maternal lifestyle and antenatal anxiety. Methods: This is an analytical-cross-sectional study, and its study population included 201 eligible pregnant women referred to Al-Zahra Hospital in Rasht. A convenience sampling method was used. Data collection tools included the Demographic and obstetrics questionnaire, The Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP), and the standard pregnancy-related anxiety questionnaire (PRAQ). Data analysis was performed using statistical tests including the Spearman correlation coefficient, Mann- Whitney test, and Kruskal-Wallis in SPSS. A P<0.05 was considered significant. Results: Data analysis showed that the mean score of maternal lifestyle and antenatal anxiety was 67.8 ± 10.9 and 43.2 ± 20.1, respectively. There was a weak significant negative correlation between antenatal anxiety scores and the total maternal lifestyle score (P=0.004, r=-0.204). The results of the multiple linear regression analysis also showed that with an increase in the total score of maternal lifestyles, the antenatal anxiety score decreases significantly after controlling the Demographic and obstetrics variable. That is, with a unit increase in the total lifestyle score, the total anxiety score decreases on average by 0.20 units (P=0.004, b=0.20). Conclusions: A weak but significant negative correlation exists between maternal lifestyle and antenatal anxiety, indicating that higher lifestyle scores are associated with lower anxiety levels. Thus, healthcare providers can play an important role in alleviating antenatal anxiety through lifestyle education, positively impacting maternal well-being.