Effect of Crisis Counselling on the Anxiety of Women With an Unplanned Pregnancy

Pregnancy is one of the primary sources of stress, and unplanned pregnancy is a crisis in women′s lives. In this study, we sought to determine the effect of crisis counseling on women′s anxiety with an unplanned pregnancy. This semi‐experimental study was conducted using the convenience sampling method. Sixty married pregnant women aged 15–49 years with unplanned pregnancies were randomly assigned to the two groups of intervention and control ( n = 30 per group), of whom five were excluded from the intervention group, and three were excluded from the control group. The data collection tools included a medical–mental health checklist, the 28‐item General Health Questionnaire‐28 (GHQ‐28), Winfield and Taigman′s Social Support Scale, and Spielberg′s State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Three individual counseling sessions were held according to Roberts′ seven‐stage model. The participants′ state and trait anxiety scores were assessed before and one month after the counseling sessions. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding demographic characteristics, general health score, level of social support, and the mean score of general anxiety ( p > 0.05). The mean scores of state anxiety before and after the intervention in the interventional group were 45.92 ± 6.8 and 42.8 ± 4.14, respectively, and the mean of trait anxiety scores were 46.84 ± 6.82 and 44.48 ± 5.46, respectively. In the control group, the mean of state anxiety scores before and after the intervention were 46.78 ± 6.09 and 46.63 ± 7.1, respectively, and the mean of trait anxiety scores were 46.41 ± 4.54 and 46.89 ± 5.09, respectively. Crisis counseling significantly impacted both state ( p = 0.004) and trait ( p = 0.047) anxiety. Crisis counseling reduces trait and state anxiety in women with an unplanned pregnancy. Therefore, establishing high‐risk pregnancy clinics and employing midwifery consultants to assess and reduce anxiety levels in women with unplanned pregnancies will be beneficial. Trial Registration Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials:IRCT2017100231117N5