Characterization of anxiety during pregnancy and childbirth from the nursing professional’s perspective

• Ruiz Sánchez, Laura Valentina ^[1] ; Sánchez Alquichire, Ximena Patricia ^[1] ; Ruiz Barajas, Camilo Andrés ^[1] ; Pulido Montes, Maria Andreina ^[1] ; Rincón Romero, Katherine ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia

     Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia

     Colombia

     
• Localización: SAP Nursing Depths Series, ISSN-e 3125-2435, Nº. 2, 2023
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Introduction: Pregnancy involves changes and uncertainties that can produce stress and anxiety, with biological and psychosocial consequences for the mother and the newborn; nursing emerges as a key actor for detection and emotional support. Objective: To characterize anxiety during pregnancy and childbirth from the perspective of the nursing professional. Methods: Narrative literature review conducted in January 2023; search in PubMed, ProQuest, Dialnet, SciELO and Medline; criteria: studies from the last 5 years in Spanish, English or Portuguese that explicitly addressed anxiety in pregnant women; final selection: 16 documents after screening 653 records. Results: The studies reviewed showed anxiety as a central issue linked to underlying disorders, perinatal complications and worsening during the pandemic; associated factors included lack of companionship, adolescent pregnancy, pregnancy loss and the postpartum period; nursing practices such as empathetic care, prenatal education and relaxation techniques were also described, and complementary interventions with heterogeneous evidence were reported. Conclusions: Anxiety in pregnancy is a complex problem that interconnects biological, psychosocial and care-related aspects, and nursing is recognized as having a central role in identifying, accompanying and providing emotional and educational support, as well as coordinating health system resources.