Anxiety Disorders in Pregnancy Flashcards
7 cards from real PMH-C practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Anxiety Disorders in Pregnancy flashcards as text
A pregnant woman in her third trimester reports persistent worry about fetal well-being, difficulty sleeping, and muscle tension lasting 8 months. Which diagnosis best fits?
Answer: Generalized anxiety disorder
GAD requires excessive worry about multiple domains, difficulty controlling the worry, and at least 3 somatic symptoms (e.g., sleep disturbance, muscle tension) persisting ≥6 months.
Which fetal outcome has been most consistently associated with untreated severe maternal anxiety during pregnancy?
Answer: Preterm birth
Robust evidence links severe prenatal anxiety to increased risk of preterm birth, likely mediated by stress hormones and inflammatory pathways.
A clinician uses the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) in the first trimester. What score indicates moderate anxiety warranting clinical attention?
Answer: ≥10
GAD-7 scores of 5, 10, and 15 correspond to mild, moderate, and severe anxiety thresholds; ≥10 indicates moderate severity warranting further evaluation.
A woman with pre-existing OCD becomes pregnant and notices contamination obsessions intensifying. What is the recommended first-line pharmacotherapy?
Answer: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
SSRIs remain first-line pharmacotherapy for OCD in pregnancy due to their established safety profile and efficacy.
Which cognitive distortion is most characteristic of health anxiety (illness anxiety disorder) in pregnant women?
Answer: Catastrophic misinterpretation of normal pregnancy symptoms as signs of serious fetal illness
Illness anxiety disorder is defined by catastrophic misinterpretation of benign bodily sensations as evidence of serious disease.
During a perinatal mental health assessment, a woman describes recurrent intrusive thoughts of accidentally harming her unborn baby that she finds deeply distressing and ego-dystonic. The most appropriate response is to:
Answer: Recognize this as a common OCD symptom and assess further
Ego-dystonic intrusive thoughts about harming a baby are a hallmark OCD symptom and are very different from psychotic command hallucinations; CPS referral is not warranted.
Which nonpharmacological intervention has the strongest evidence base for treating anxiety disorders during pregnancy?
Answer: Cognitive-behavioral therapy
CBT has the strongest evidence base for anxiety disorders in the perinatal period, with multiple RCTs demonstrating efficacy.