The Relationship between Sleep Quality, Depression, and Anxiety in Pregnant Women: A Cohort Study

Background and Objective: Sleep disturbances are common in women, especially during pregnancy. This can re-sult in emotional and psychological consequences in pregnant women. The aim of this study was to assess the preva-lence and identify the relationship between sleep quality, anxiety, and depression during pregnancy. Materials Methods: This cohort study included 283 pregnant women. Participants completed Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index at first, second, and third gestational tri-mesters. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and Cramer’s V correlation technique. Results: The findings indicated that nearly 30% of participants suffered from depression. Mild depression reported from the first, second, and third trimesters was 18%, 11%, and 4.9%, respectively, while severe depression frequency was found to be 4.9% in the third trimester. Moreover, the highest proportion of mild anxiety was 28.3% in the first trimester, and moderate and severe anxiety had a prevalence of 4.9 and 14.1% in the third trimester, respectively. In the third trimester, sleep quality was lower and the prevalence of sleep problems was 75.26%. The findings also showed that there is a significant association between sleep problems and depression and anxiety (P 0.0500). Conclusion: Psychological problems such as anxiety and depression were prevalent among the studied population of pregnant women. Thus, psychological counseling before pregnancy or early pregnancy in this population may pro-vide safer pregnancy, convenient delivery, and healthier newborns.