3.2. Maternal Anxiety
Anxiety, birth companions, anxiety
Maternal anxiety for women who received continuous labor support from birth companions who had a midwife-provided orientation (intervention) was compared to those who received usual care (control).The overall mean anxiety score was 5.4 (SD = 2.0). Anxiety was higher in the pre-intervention period (5.7, SD = 1.9) compared to the post-intervention period (5.1, SD = 2.0). There was a statistically significant difference in the mean anxiety score between the pre-and post-intervention period (Subgroup analysis to evaluate treatment effects for specific endpoint groups showed that although not statistically significant, there was a notable reduction in the mean anxiety score at the regional referral hospital (from (6.3-SD 2.3) to (3.4-SD2.2)). Additionally, high differences were noted among women who were younger, first-time mothers, with a low education status, and those who were married. Additionally, anxiety levels were much lower when sisters (siblings) (6.2(2.0) vs. 4.8(2.3)) offered support compared to the parents, spouses, friends, or other relatives. See A multivariable analysis was performed to assess the relative contributions of different factors that could affect maternal anxiety. We found a statistically significant difference in the anxiety scores by study period (