Purpose This study investigated the optimal cutoff points of three psychological tools for screening psychiatric disorders in women with high‐risk pregnancy. Design and Methods In this cross‐sectional study (N = 155), sensitivity/specificity of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Brief Symptom Inventory 53‐items (BSI‐53), and the BSI‐18 were computed with respect to having a psychiatric diagnosis based on the clinical interview. Results The usual cutoffs (≥13 for EPDS, T‐score of 63 for BSI‐53) demonstrated poor diagnostic accuracy. The optimal thresholds were computed for EPDS cutoff of 6.5, GSI = 0.47 for BSI‐53, and GSI = 0.5 for BSI‐18. Practice Implications The use of psychological tools among pregnant women with high‐risk pregnancy may need to be modified in order to accurately identify psychiatric disorders.

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Introduction: Few studies have reported the role of psychosocial risk factors by a validated scale in predicting mental disorders in women with complicated pregnancy. This study investigated the role of a psychosocial risk assessment tool in the prediction of postnatal depression in women with complicated pregnancy. Methods: A prospective study was performed on pregnant women with complicated pregnancy from December 2019 to June 2020. A total of 125 pregnant women filled the Antenatal Risk Questionnaire (ANRQ), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Brief Symptom Inventory 53-items (BSI-53). Also, the patients completed EPDS during 6-weeks of postpartum. An expert mental specialist conducted the interviews based on the DSM-5. Results: More than half of the women with complicated pregnancy were diagnosed to have at least one mental disorder. The mean risk scores of ANRQ including the childhood social support from the respondent’s mother, history of mental illness, perceived level of support available postpartum, significant life events in the past 12 months, and personality traits with high anxiety were higher in women with mental disorders than those without mental disorders. The results emphasized that the total score of ANRQ was the strongest positive predictor for postnatal depression score of EPDS (β = 0.569, p=<0.001), for the total score of BSI-53 (β = 0.666 p=<0.001), and for GSI (β = 0.237, p=0.019). Conclusion: The study proposes that the use of a validated psychosocial risk assessment tool alongside a screening psychological tool, like EPDS, is reliable for prediction of mental disorders and help women with complicated pregnancy at risk for prevention of depression at antenatal visits.

Purpose. Husbands’ participation is important in the success of maternal health programs. This participation is emphasized in all dimensions including mental health. This study was conducted to examine the husband’s expectations and participatory performance to improve anxiety in pregnant women. Design and Methods. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted via targeted convenience sampling in two public and private maternity care centers. 30 women who were 13–38-week pregnant were diagnosed with anxiety disorder in a Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-5 (SCID-5), and 16 husbands experienced a semistructured in-depth qualitative interview. Data were extracted by the conventional content analysis using MAXQDA software (version 18). Findings. Husbands’ expectations and participatory performance to reduce the anxiety of pregnant women were produced in three themes of emotion, behavior, and cognition in terms of the men’s and women’s perspectives. Approximately 70% of subthemes were common among women and men which included emotion (emotional psychological support, strengthening verbal communication, receiving attention and love, and creating a field of entertainment), behavior (following up on mother and fetus’s health, participation in housekeeping, compatibility to mood changes, material and financial provision, and companionship during childbirth), and cognition (increasing the knowledge in the field of pregnancy and the ability to resolve conflict). However, the men’s and women’s themes had some differences. Practice Implications. While men emphasized adjusting communication expectations and making positive changes in lifestyle, anxious women emphasized the themes of receiving attention and love, well-posedness, companionship in childbirth, and loyalty as important factors influencing the improvement of their disease.