Abstract:
The COVID-19 epidemic situation has caused anxiety among pregnant women. This study aimed to explore factors influencing anxiety among pregnant women in during the COVID19 epidemic. The sample consisted of 126 pregnant women with a gestational age of 12 weeks or more who received antenatal services at Samut Prakan Hospital and Bang Phli Hospital, Samut Prakan province. Data was collected during January to July 2022. The sample was selected by using simple random sampling without replacement. The questionnaires included a general information questionnaire, anxiety questionnaire, social support questionnaire, COVID-19 fear questionnaire, and resilience questionnaire. The reliability of all questionnaires were .87, .92, .90, and .96 respectively. Descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple regression statistics were employed for data analysis. The study finding revealed that pregnant women had a moderate level of anxiety (M = 44.82, SD = 10.49). The significant influencing factors of anxiety among pregnant women during the COVID-19 epidemic were perceived social support (β = -.343, p < .001), fear of COVID-19 (β = .320, p < .001), and resilience (β = -.235, p< .003). The percentage of total variance explained by these factors were able to predict the anxiety among pregnant women during the COVID-19 epidemic by 42.8 percent (R 2 = .428, F(3, 122)= 30.49, p< .001) The results of this study could be used as basic information for developing nursing model to reduce anxiety by promoting social support, reducing fear of COVID-19 and reducing resilient then pregnant women.