title: Effects of antepartum electronic fetal monitoring on maternal emotional state.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To evaluate the emotional state of pregnant women undergoing computerised cardiotocography (cCTG).
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire including questions about socio-demographic background, personal obstetric history and physician-patient relationship was given to 204 pregnant women about to undergo cCTG. The Edinburgh Post-natal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to assess patients' mood state before CTG, while the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used to evaluate anxiety levels before and after this examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean STAI T-anxiety score did not differ before and after CTG (p=0.38), but higher levels of basal anxiety were found in women who had undergone only occasional prenatal controls (p=0.04), as well as smokers (p=0.01), and women preferring a vaginal delivery (p=0.01). The mean STAI S-anxiety score of 43.6+/-4.03 before the cardiotographic examination, increased to 45.2+/-5.4 after this test with a statistically significant difference (p=0.0001). This increase was found to be correlated with the presence of obstetric complications during the current pregnancy (p=0.036) and a lower number of fetal active movements (p=0.029). Based on the EPDS, 22 patients (14.1%) were found to be depressed, but this condition was not correlated with significant increases in anxiety levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Anxiety levels in pregnant women who undergo routine CTG are increased, and this emotional reaction seems to be influenced by the perception of fetal movement during the examination, and is more evident in pregnancies affected by obstetric complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecological, Obstetrical Sciences and Reproductive Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy. antonio.devivo@gmail.com
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mancuso
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Vivo
authors.forename: Giusi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fanara
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Denaro
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Laganà
authors.forename: Franco Maria
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Accardo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D015148:Cardiotocography; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D005260:Female; D005324:Fetal Movement; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D011295:Prenatal Care; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires