Results
anxiety
The mean ± standard deviation (SD) of the age of participants in intervention and control groups was 34.34 (6.62) and 32.19(5.88), respectively. The education level of most participants in the intervention and control groups was high school and higher (73.07 and 69.22%) and the job of them was a housewife (84.61 and 80.76%). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic variables (Table 
Demographic and reproductive variables of the participants in the intervention and control groupsEducationElementary/Guidance schoolHigh school or universitySpouse educationElementary/Guidance schoolHigh school or university101638.4661.5491734.6165.39Spouse jobUnemployedClerkWorkerSelf-employedNumber of pregnanciesOneTwoThree or more*Mean (SD), LMP: Last Menstrual PeriodIn the counselling group, the mean (SD) of a total score of anxiety before the intervention was 67.11(20.68) which increased to 32.50 (13.58) six weeks after the intervention. Furthermore, the mean (SD) of a total score of worry before the intervention was 56.19 (16.76) which increased to 32.96(8.89) six weeks after the intervention.At the baseline, there were no statistically significant differences in the mean of anxiety and worry between the intervention and control groups. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of anxiety immediately after the intervention (P = 0.002) and at the 6-week follow-up (P = 0.008). Also, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of worry immediately after the intervention (P = 0.001) and at the 6-week follow-up (P = 0.011) (Table 
Comparison of anxiety and worry between the intervention and control groups during different phases of the studyAbout anxiety and its subscales, repeated measures ANOVAs indicated that the fear of childbirth (F = 4.77 and P = 0.018), the fear of giving birth to a child with physical or mental health issues (F = 225.52 and P = 0.001), the fear of changes in marital relationships (F = 7.62 and P = 0.002), the self-centered fears or fear of changes in the personal life of the mother (F = 3.73 and P = 0.027), and the total anxiety score (F = 20.34 and P = 0.001) had a statistically significant decrease over time. The fear of changes in mood and its consequences for the child did not decrease significantly over time. Eta squared coefficient showed that 8.7% changes in the fear of childbirth, 33.8% changes in the fear of giving birth to a child with physical or mental health issues, 13.2% changes in the fear of changes in marital relationships, 6.9% changes in the self-centred fears or fear of changes in the personal life of the mother, and 28.9% of the total anxiety changes were due to the intervention (Table 
Repeated measure analysis of variance of anxiety, worry, and subscales of them during different phases of the studyAbout worry and its subscales, repeated measures ANOVAs indicated that the health (F = 15.56 and P = 0.001), the socio-medical (F = 8.77 and P = 0.003), the socio-economic (F = 7.76 and P = 0.002), the relationships (F = 4.05 and P = 0.028), and the total worry score (F = 19.84 and P = 0.001) had a statistically significant decrease over time. Eta squared coefficient showed that 23.7% of changes in health, 14.9% changes of the socio-medical, 13.4% of changes in socio-economic, 7.5% of changes in relationships, and 28.4% changes in the total worry changes were due to intervention (Table 