Abstract
The present study was designed to investigate the relationships between women's knowledge of pregnancy, labor, delivery, neonatal behavior and early parenting skills and their anxiety during their third trimester of pregnancy. Eighty primiparous, married women were selected from childbirth education preparation courses offered at hospitals in Dade County, Florida.Women completed the Pregnancy Information Questionnaire (PIQ) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. In addition, they completed several other paper and pencil measures including the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scales, the Life Events Scale for Obstetrical Groups and Miller's Behavioral Style Scale.Women were assigned to high, medium and low knowledge groups on the basis of their PIQ scores. Results indicated that women in the low information group were significantly more anxious than women in the medium or high information groups. The impact of locus of control and coping styles on knowledge and anxiety were also discussed. Results suggest empirical support for the previously unverified assumption of the childbirth education movement that lowered childbirth information is related to anxiety.