Correlation of maternal stress because of positive aneuploidy screening serum analytes and uterine arteries’ doppler ultrasound index: a cohort prospective study

Antenatal anxiety or maternal stress is a prevalent chronic mental disorder in pregnant women. We assessed the effect of maternal stress because of positive aneuploidy screening results on the alteration of uterine artery’s blood flow. Method: This pilot, cohort, prospective study was done at a hospital in Tehran. Sixty pregnant women who were candidates for amniocentesis due to having abnormal sequential screening test results entered the study. Two standard psychological tests, the Spielberger’s state-trait anxiety and Beck’s anxiety inventories, were used to determine anxiety level in the participants before and two weeks after amniocentesis. Uterine arteries’ resistance index was also measured before and two weeks after amniocentesis. The level of maternal stress was compared with uterine arteries’ resistance index.Results: The mean of state-trait anxiety scores before amniocentesis was more than 40, meaning that the mothers experienced nearly high anxiety. Although there was no correlations between both inventories’ anxiety scores and uterine artery blood flow before amniocentesis, there were significant negative correlations between the state-trait anxiety scores and uterine artery’s resistance indexes two weeks after amniocentesis (P < 0.05). Also, there was an association between decreased right uterine artery’s resistance index and hidden anxiety scores. Some significant correlations were found between anxiety scores and second trimester analytes like β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG), unconjugated estriol and α-fetoprotein (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Maternal anxiety because of positive aneuploidy screening serum analytes and amniocentesis can affect perinatal outcomes via mood-based alterations in the uterine arteries’ blood flow and screening markers like β-hCG, unconjugated estriol and α-fetoprotein.