Psychoeducation reduces anxiety and cortisol hormones in high-risk pregnant women

Background: High-risk pregnancy poses significant challenges to both maternal and fetal health, increasing the risk of complications, anxiety, and elevated cortisol levels. Anxiety in high-risk pregnancies has been widely studied, but most interventions focus on pharmacological treatments or psychol...

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Main Authors: Sapiah Sahupala, Suharsono Suharsono, Krisdiana Wijayanti
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto 2025-04-01
Series:Medisains
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jurnalnasional.ump.ac.id/index.php/medisains/article/view/23398
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author Sapiah Sahupala
Suharsono Suharsono
Krisdiana Wijayanti
author_facet Sapiah Sahupala
Suharsono Suharsono
Krisdiana Wijayanti
author_sort Sapiah Sahupala
collection DOAJ
description Background: High-risk pregnancy poses significant challenges to both maternal and fetal health, increasing the risk of complications, anxiety, and elevated cortisol levels. Anxiety in high-risk pregnancies has been widely studied, but most interventions focus on pharmacological treatments or psychological support without integrating physiological stress markers such as cortisol levels. Psychoeducation is a nonpharmacological intervention designed to enhance understanding, equip women with stress management skills, and promote confidence in facing pregnancy. However, limited studies have examined its direct impact on both anxiety and cortisol levels in high-risk pregnant women. Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of psychoeducation in reducing anxiety and cortisol levels among high-risk pregnant women. Methods: This study employed a pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design without a control group. The intervention consisted of four structured psychoeducation sessions, each lasting 120 minutes over two weeks. A total of 23 high-risk pregnant women participated in the study. Anxiety levels were measured using the DASS-21, and cortisol levels were assessed through saliva samples collected before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: The findings revealed a significant reduction in anxiety scores from 15.60 ± 2.99 to 8.52 ± 1.88 (p < 0.001) and cortisol levels from 15.72 ± 9.10 to 10.40 ± 6.97 (p < 0.001), indicating the effectiveness of psychoeducation in reducing both psychological and physiological stress in high-risk pregnancies. Conclusion: Psychoeducation, delivered through four sessions over two weeks, is effective in reducing anxiety and cortisol levels in high-risk pregnant women. This intervention should be integrated into prenatal care to support maternal well-being and stress management.
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institution Kabale University
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publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto
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spelling doaj-art-e86589c9fa1b4bd0b5e3cc58b5f0edb82025-08-20T03:48:42ZengUniversitas Muhammadiyah PurwokertoMedisains1693-73092621-23662025-04-01231505310.30595/medisains.v0i0.2339818879Psychoeducation reduces anxiety and cortisol hormones in high-risk pregnant womenSapiah Sahupala0Suharsono Suharsono1Krisdiana Wijayanti2Poltekkes Kemenkes SemarangPoltekkes Kemenkes SemarangPoltekkes Kemenkes SemarangBackground: High-risk pregnancy poses significant challenges to both maternal and fetal health, increasing the risk of complications, anxiety, and elevated cortisol levels. Anxiety in high-risk pregnancies has been widely studied, but most interventions focus on pharmacological treatments or psychological support without integrating physiological stress markers such as cortisol levels. Psychoeducation is a nonpharmacological intervention designed to enhance understanding, equip women with stress management skills, and promote confidence in facing pregnancy. However, limited studies have examined its direct impact on both anxiety and cortisol levels in high-risk pregnant women. Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of psychoeducation in reducing anxiety and cortisol levels among high-risk pregnant women. Methods: This study employed a pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design without a control group. The intervention consisted of four structured psychoeducation sessions, each lasting 120 minutes over two weeks. A total of 23 high-risk pregnant women participated in the study. Anxiety levels were measured using the DASS-21, and cortisol levels were assessed through saliva samples collected before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: The findings revealed a significant reduction in anxiety scores from 15.60 ± 2.99 to 8.52 ± 1.88 (p < 0.001) and cortisol levels from 15.72 ± 9.10 to 10.40 ± 6.97 (p < 0.001), indicating the effectiveness of psychoeducation in reducing both psychological and physiological stress in high-risk pregnancies. Conclusion: Psychoeducation, delivered through four sessions over two weeks, is effective in reducing anxiety and cortisol levels in high-risk pregnant women. This intervention should be integrated into prenatal care to support maternal well-being and stress management.https://jurnalnasional.ump.ac.id/index.php/medisains/article/view/23398hydrocortisonepregnant womenanxietypregnancy high-risk
spellingShingle Sapiah Sahupala
Suharsono Suharsono
Krisdiana Wijayanti
Psychoeducation reduces anxiety and cortisol hormones in high-risk pregnant women
Medisains
hydrocortisone
pregnant women
anxiety
pregnancy high-risk
title Psychoeducation reduces anxiety and cortisol hormones in high-risk pregnant women
title_full Psychoeducation reduces anxiety and cortisol hormones in high-risk pregnant women
title_fullStr Psychoeducation reduces anxiety and cortisol hormones in high-risk pregnant women
title_full_unstemmed Psychoeducation reduces anxiety and cortisol hormones in high-risk pregnant women
title_short Psychoeducation reduces anxiety and cortisol hormones in high-risk pregnant women
title_sort psychoeducation reduces anxiety and cortisol hormones in high risk pregnant women
topic hydrocortisone
pregnant women
anxiety
pregnancy high-risk
url https://jurnalnasional.ump.ac.id/index.php/medisains/article/view/23398
work_keys_str_mv AT sapiahsahupala psychoeducationreducesanxietyandcortisolhormonesinhighriskpregnantwomen
AT suharsonosuharsono psychoeducationreducesanxietyandcortisolhormonesinhighriskpregnantwomen
AT krisdianawijayanti psychoeducationreducesanxietyandcortisolhormonesinhighriskpregnantwomen