DISPOSITIONAL MINDFULNESS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH ANTENATAL DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN KHARIAN, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Abstract

Background and Objective: Antenatal depression and anxiety are common in low- and middle-income countries yet remain under-recognised in routine obstetric care. Dispositional (trait) mindfulness has been proposed as a protective psychological resource, but it has not been examined in pregnant women in this part of Pakistan. This study determined the prevalence of antenatal depression and anxiety and their association with dispositional mindfulness.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 397 pregnant women attending primary, secondary, and tertiary care facilities in Kharian, Punjab, Pakistan. Depression and anxiety were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; a subscale score ≥11 defined a case) and dispositional mindfulness with the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Data were analysed in SPSS using descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, independent-samples t-tests, and Pearson correlation, with p<0.05 considered significant.

Results: The prevalence of antenatal anxiety was 22.7% (90/397) and of depression 20.4% (81/397). Mean MAAS score was 4.42 ± 0.77. Women who screened positive for anxiety had significantly lower mindfulness than those who did not (3.90 ± 0.82 vs 4.58 ± 0.69; t = −7.16, p<0.001), as did women positive for depression (3.90 ± 0.78 vs 4.56 ± 0.71; t = −6.90, p<0.001). MAAS scores correlated inversely with HADS-anxiety (r = −0.49, p<0.001) and HADS-depression scores (r = −0.42, p<0.001). Sociodemographic and haematological variables showed no significant association with either outcome.

Conclusion: Approximately one in five pregnant women in Kharian screened positive for anxiety or depression, and lower dispositional mindfulness was strongly associated with both. Mindfulness-based approaches warrant evaluation as part of antenatal mental-health care in this setting.