Anxiety has significant consequences for maternal and infant health, and Mexican immigrant mothers are at significantly high-risk. This study examined whether maternal depressive symptoms and trauma are related to anxiety symptoms in perinatal Mexican immigrants. Data were collected from 103 Mexican women residing in the Midwestern United States who were pregnant or up to two years postpartum. Half were aged 30-34. The majority had two or more children and low socio-economic status. Linear regression analyses predicted current anxiety symptoms from current maternal depression symptoms, trauma history, and socio-demographics. Anxiety symptoms were significantly related to depressive symptoms (B = 0.87, 95% CI 0.73, 1.01) and trauma. Compared to women with no trauma history, women who experienced more than ten traumas had increased anxiety symptoms (B = 7.15, 95% CI 0.34, 13.96). Perinatal Mexican women with higher depression symptoms and trauma have increased anxiety symptoms, increasing the need for more comprehensive screening.
Keywords: Latina mental health; Perinatal anxiety; Perinatal depression.