Background & aim: Pregnancy-related anxiety and depression are prevalent and increase the risk of negative maternal outcomes. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the effect of midwife-led counseling according to Gamble’s approach on pregnancy-related anxiety and depression.
Methods: The present quasi-experimental study was carried out from April 4, 2023, to September 21, 2023, in Zahedan, Iran. Fifty-seven Iranian pregnant women at gestational ages of 18-24 weeks with a Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) score of ≥8 were allocated to two intervention and control groups using convenience sampling. The intervention group (n=28) received five counseling sessions according to Gamble’s approach, while the control group (n=29) was subjected to the routine prenatal care. The HADS questionnaire was used to collect data before, immediately after, and two months after the intervention. Data were analyzed using the chi-squared test, linear regression model, and repeated measures analysis of variance.
Results: The two groups were not significantly different in terms of anxiety (P=0.9) and depression scores (P=0.2) before the intervention. However, after the intervention, the anxiety and depression scores significantly decreased in the intervention group in comparison with the control group (P