Prenatal anxiety and social media usage in seeking childbirth information among pregnant women: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Pregnancy is often associated with joy and anticipation; it can also be accompanied by significant anxiety. This study was carried out to assess prenatal anxiety and social media usage in seeking childbirth information among pregnant women. Methodology: This study employed a cross-sectional design involving 300 pregnant women at a tertiary care center in Chennai with gestations of 10-40 weeks. The participants were selected via purposive sampling. Information was collected through interviews using a pregnancy-related anxiety scale (PRAQ-R) and a social media usage questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential methods were used to analyze the data. Results: The overall prenatal anxiety score ranged from 11 to 40, with a mean of 24.7 ± 4.10. The average time spent on social media was 3.78 ± 1.19 h/day. The common platforms were YouTube (77.3%), Instagram and WhatsApp (63%), web pages (50%), and Facebook (31%). Frequently researched topics were antenatal nutrition (97%), antenatal investigation (87.3%), fetal well-being (77.3%), and exercise (63.3%). Anxiety was significantly associated with previous cesarean delivery ( F = 8.48, P = 0.002). The amount of time spent on social media was significantly greater among women aged 27–36 years (odds ratio [OR] = 2.66; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.5–4.50), among multigravida (OR = 5.09; 95% CI: [2.85–9.09]), and among women with complications in the previous pregnancy (OR 2.05; 95% CI 1.02–4.12). Conclusion: Prenatal anxiety was influenced by pregnancy-related concerns and past obstetric experiences, highlighting the emotional challenges faced during pregnancy. Pregnant women actively seek childbirth-related information from multiple sources, with social media being commonly used because of its convenience and easy accessibility.