Assessing the effect of self-care education on anxiety and depression among pregnant women with a history of spontaneous abortion

INTRODUCTION: Abortion is one of the most common complications of early pregnancy, which emerges as a physically and mentally devastating experience. Due to the prevalence and importance of postabortion mental health problems and their adverse effects on subsequent pregnancies, some interventions should be made to reduce the resultant anxiety and depression. The present study aimed to determine the effect of self-care education on anxiety and depression among pregnant women with a history of spontaneous abortion. METHODS: This randomized quasi-experimental study was performed on ninety pregnant women with a history of spontaneous abortion who referred to health centers in Zahedan in 2019. The samples were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to two intervention and control groups. Between 6 and 16 weeks of gestation, the participants in the intervention group received four sessions of 60-min self-care training over 2 weeks. On the other hand, the control group received routine pregnancy care. Data collection tools included a demographic and fertility evaluation questionnaire, a 6-item short-form of the state scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and a short form of Beck Depression Inventory. Posttest was performed 4 weeks after the end of the intervention. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 21) using statistical tests of independent t-pair, paired t-pair, Chi-square, and Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Based on the obtained results, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of anxiety and depression scores before the intervention. Nonetheless, after the intervention, the mean scores of anxiety and depression in the intervention group were calculated at 7.31 +/- 1.31 and 4.71 +/- 1.90, respectively. However, these scores were reported as 1.87 +/- 13.46 and 9.31 +/- 1.59 in the control group, respectively (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: As evidenced by the obtained results, self-care education is effective in the reduction of anxiety and depression in pregnant women with a history of spontaneous abortion. Therefore, health professionals and health-care providers should enrich prenatal care programs with these training sessions and provide women with peace of mind and comfort during pregnancy.