The Anxiety During Pregnancy and Its Relation to Maternal-Fetal Relations: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: The pregnant women may experience anxiety as an independent mental health issue or as a significant feature of antenatal depression. Postpartum depression can persist and negatively impact the bonding attachment period, the baby’s growth process, and the motherhood transition. This study performed aimed to assess the relation of anxiety during pregnancy and maternal-fetal relations.

Methods: The current study was a systematic review conducted to assess the related articles from databases of Sage, Springer, Pubmed, and Taylor & Francis. The articles of the cross-sectional studies that focused on anxiety and maternal-fetal relations conducted from 2021 to 2025 were included, while other study designs performed before 2021 were excluded.  The articles were assessed by PRISMA flow analysis after being screened by PICOs analysis.

Result: Only two articles provided results that showed no significant relation between anxiety during pregnancy and maternal-fetal relations, while the remaining 9 studies proved the relation. Anxiety during pregnancy and maternal-fetal relations have a tendency towards an inverse relationship.

Conclusion: Most of the studies proved that higher anxiety during pregnancy period is related to        lower maternal-fetal relations. It is concluded that several factors need to be assessed based on the characteristics of mothers or the causes of anxiety due to the inconsistent results.