Follow Up Assessments: 34-36 weeks pregnant and 4-week postpartum for Anxiety Disorders

Almost all known psychological treatments may be used to treat anxiety disorders: psychodynamic-based therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation therapy, and relaxation techniques, but psychodynamic-based therapies and cognitive behavioral therapy-based relaxation therapies can be particularly useful in treating specific anxiety disorders. In addition, hypnosis, guided imagery therapy, and biofeedback have been shown to reduce the duration and severity of panic attacks. The use of medication to treat panic disorder is less conclusive, and medication only appears to be effective in certain situations.

Between 9% and 29% of adults have at least one anxiety disorder and between 0.4% and 4.4% meet criteria for the specific phobias. Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in this population, especially among female adolescents and adults. Clinicians should be aware of these numbers, as there is substantial unmet need for efficacious interventions in women and children with anxiety disorders and specific phobias.

These data suggest that there is an increased risk of anxiety disorders before a child is born, and children with a family history of anxiety disorders report increased stressors, anxiety, and depressive symptoms before their birth.

Anxiety symptoms include insomnia, stress, concentration problems, and headaches. Other symptoms such as fear of going outside, difficulty attending, and panic attack may occur. It is important to note that anxiety can be a symptom and cause of depression. Anxiety is an essential contributor to mood disorders with both conditions occurring commonly in the same environments. Anxiety symptoms and disorders could worsen social and vocational abilities. The treatment for an anxiety disorder is different from treatment of a depression. Patients with anxiety disorders may benefit from psychotherapy which includes cognitive behavioral therapy. Anxiety symptoms and disorders could be treated using medications that decrease the symptoms while also improving the outlook.\n\nDementia is the deterioration of memory, thinking, and behavior that occurs.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders affecting one out of ten adults in an Australian adult population. The prevalence of panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder is higher than that of other specific anxiety disorders. Women have more than twice as many anxiety disorders as men.

Data from a recent study imply that anxiety disorders do not heal themselves. Nevertheless, studies that are based on the self as a subject source of data may produce false results and therefore it is advisable to study anxiety disorders using the observer as a subjects source of information.

Follow up care is not standardized in the maternity care setting. For most mothers in Ontario who receive the standard postpartum follow up care, the 4-week postpartum care did not cover all postpartum concerns; this has implications to the success of this follow up care, and the impact it has on the mothers' satisfaction with the care they receive.

There is a need for new anxiety treatments since most drugs of known effectiveness are already being widely used. In addition, more research should be done to find new ways of treating anxiety disorders with fewer side effects.

The follow up assessments did not improve QOL of pregnant women with anxiety disorders. Results from a recent paper of this study highlight the need for a randomized trial with at least six months postpartum.

Findings from a recent study shows that the provision of post-partum follow up telephone conversations, where all results are discussed with and received by respondents, is safe for patients with chronic disease, and increases adherence to follow up.

Pregnant women treated with citalopram or paroxetine and their immediate postpartum periods had decreased rates of anxiety, symptoms, and number of episodes. This was shown to be even more important for women who had a high baseline rate of PTSD. Follow up analyses were also performed and the researchers were able to examine the efficacy in those who were not treatment-naive at the beginning of the study. The participants had a greater average decrease in symptoms (except for nightmares) than treatment-naive participants. An analysis of qualitative data confirmed that both citalopram and paroxetine were effective treatments in alleviating symptoms to a statistically significant level.