Prevalence of antenatal and postnatal anxiety: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Almost a quarter of women have significant anxiety symptoms in the third trimester — the screening I've had only asked about depression. Can you screen me for anxiety too?
Reasonable evidence with real limitations. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: The confidence intervals around the diagnosed-disorder estimates are wide (15.2%, 95% CI 9.0-21.4 antenatally), reflecting real heterogeneity between studies and instruments. Rates were higher in low- and middle-income countries, so a single global figure understates the spread.
Across 102 studies of 221,974 women in 34 countries, self-reported anxiety symptoms rose through pregnancy — 18.2% in the first trimester, 19.1% in the second, 24.6% in the third — and 15.0% of women reported them in the first 24 weeks after birth. The prevalence of a clinically diagnosed anxiety disorder was 15.2% antenatally and 9.9% postnatally. Perinatal anxiety is at least as common as perinatal depression and gets a fraction of the attention.
Worth asking
Almost a quarter of women have significant anxiety symptoms in the third trimester — the screening I've had only asked about depression. Can you screen me for anxiety too?
What to watch for
Evidence quality tells you whether to trust the finding — not whether the treatment is safe. These are the risks this research reports.
- Fertility & pregnancy risk
Source
Prevalence of antenatal and postnatal anxiety: systematic review and meta-analysis. — Dennis CL, Falah-Hassani K, Shiri R. (2017)
Reputable peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.116.187179
DOI: 10.1192/bjp.bp.116.187179
How this was scored
- Study design
- Systematic review of observational studies
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
- Published in
- Reputable peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 221,974
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- Yes
- Independent of proponent
- Yes
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Where we put this study in context
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "moderate evidence". Reasonable evidence with real limitations. It scores 68 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: The confidence intervals around the diagnosed-disorder estimates are wide (15.2%, 95% CI 9.0-21.4 antenatally), reflecting real heterogeneity between studies and instruments. Rates were higher in low- and middle-income countries, so a single global figure understates the spread. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Prevalence of antenatal and postnatal anxiety: systematic review and meta-analysis. — Dennis CL, Falah-Hassani K, Shiri R. (2017). Published in: Reputable peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1192/bjp.bp.116.187179. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Systematic review of observational studies. Funding: Funding not disclosed. The researchers were independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.