The effect of counseling on fathers’ stress and anxiety during pregnancy: a randomized controlled clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is a challenging period for mothers and fathers. This study aimed to investigate the effect of counseling on stress and anxiety levels of fathers. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 102 spouses of pregnant women in Ardabil, Iran. The participants were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The intervention group attended four 60-min counseling sessions at weekly intervals. The perceived stress and anxiety questionnaires were completed before and 4 weeks after the intervention. RESULTS: The mean scores of state anxiety in the intervention group decreased significantly 4 weeks after the intervention compared with the control group (MD: -2.4; 95%CI: − 4.7 to − 0.2; p = 0.030). Four weeks after the intervention, no significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of trait anxiety (p = 0.472) and perceived stress (p = 0.635). CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that counseling reduced state anxiety in expectant fathers; therefore, this intervention is recommended to be used to reduce fathers’ anxiety. TRIAL REGISTRATION: IRCT2017042910324N38. Registered 25 June 2017