Levels of anxiety and depression in pregnant women submitted to a hydrotherapy program

Abstract

Introduction: Few studies have demonstrated the action of hydrotherapy in the behavior of anxiety and depression in pregnant women. Objective: To evaluate the effect of hydrotherapy on the levels of depression and anxiety; and to investigate possible associations of these symptoms with socio-demographic profile of pregnant women. Methods: An initial assessment was carried out, and also questionnaires about the levels of anxiety and depression before and after eight weeks of hydrotherapy protocol. Results: We evaluated 19 pregnant women who had a mean age of 28.37 ± 4.56 years. It was found a predominance of married women (63.15%) in the third trimester (97.7%), with high educational level (52.63%). There were no changes in the levels of anxiety and depression after hydrotherapy intervention. There were no associations between socio-demographic profile and levels of anxiety and depression. Conclusions: There were no changes in symptoms of anxiety and depression of pregnant women undergoing hydrotherapy. In addition, there were no associations between socio-demographic characteristics and symptoms of anxiety and depression.