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Anxiety during pregnancy and low birth weight: An observational cohort study
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  • Maia Brik,
  • Miguel Sandonis,
  • Joaquín Temprado,
  • Alina Hernández-Fleury,
  • Gemma Parramón-Puig,
  • Maria Emilia Dip,
  • Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga,
  • Nerea Maiz,
  • Elena Carreras
Maia Brik
Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron
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Miguel Sandonis
Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron
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Joaquín Temprado
Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron
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Alina Hernández-Fleury
Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron
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Gemma Parramón-Puig
Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron
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Maria Emilia Dip
Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron
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Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga
Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron
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Nerea Maiz
Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Elena Carreras
Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron
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Abstract

Objective: To explore the effects of antenatal anxiety on fetal growth, and to investigate the effect of anxiety timing and the potentially different effect of trait anxiety and state anxiety on fetal growth. Design: Observational cohort study. Setting: Barcelona, Spain. Population: A cohort of 204 women with singleton pregnancies attending the antenatal clinic of a tertiary care setting during the strict lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Methods: Psychosocial factors, maternal demographics, and obstetric outcomes were studied as potential predictors of low birth weight. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAIs, STAIt), the Edinburgh postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS) were used to assess symptoms of anxiety, symptoms of depression, and social support, respectively. Main Outcome Measures: Neonatal birth weight, head circumference and length. Results: There was a negative correlation between STAIt score (trait anxiety) and birth weight percentile (r=-0.228, p=0.047). In the univariate linear regression analysis, a lower maternal weight and BMI before pregnancy, parity, increased STAIt score and preterm birth below 37 weeks of gestation (p=0.008, p=0.015, p=0.028, p=0.047 and p=0.022, respectively) were identified as predictive risk factors for low birth weight. In the multivariate lineal regression analysis only a lower maternal weight before pregnancy and an increased STAIt score were independent predictors for low birth weight (p=0.020, p=0.049, respectively). Conclusions: Anxiety during pregnancy impacts birth weight, and specifically the trait anxiety, the one associated with the personality attributes, is a predictor for low birth weight.