Effects of Pregnancy on the Course of Anxiety Disorder

Abstract

Twenty-eight women with previously diagnosed anxiety disorders completed a questionnaire designed to determine the influence of pregnancy on their disorder. Eighty-two.one percent reported a change in their symptoms during pregnancy, with almost equal numbers improving and worsening. Only 34.8% of the women with agoraphobia had an increase in symptoms, as opposed to 80.0% of the women with social phobias. Explanations for the relationship between panic attacks and pregnancy remain contradictory.