en Midwifery Orginal research <span style="line-height:2;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span sans-serif=""><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times="">Background:</span></i></b></span> <span new="" roman="" times="">Currently, a significant number of women are becoming pregnant after the age of 35. Since advanced maternal age is recognized as a risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes and fetal complications, there is a heightened potential for increased anxiety and worry among those who become pregnant at older age. Prenatal counseling can play an important role in reducing anxiety and psychological distress, while also promoting the physical and mental well-being of expectant mothers. </span></span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span sans-serif=""><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times="">Objectives:</span></i></b></span><b> </b><span new="" roman="" times="">The present study aimed to determine the effect of positive counseling on anxiety concerning giving birth to an infant with anomalies in pregnant women over 35 years of age.</span></span></span><br> <span new="" roman="" times=""><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i>Methods:</i></b></span><span style="color:#000066;"> </span><span style="color:black">This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 46 pregnant mothers over 35. Participants were conveniently recruited and then randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group using block randomization. The study instrument was the Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire (PRAQ; Vanden Berg, 1989). The experimental group received positive counseling in eight 70-90 minute virtual sessions. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test, independent samples t-test, and covariance (ANCOVA) analysis in SPSS version 22.</span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span sans-serif=""><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times="">Results:</span></i></b></span> <span new="" roman="" times="">The mean scores of anxieties concerning giving birth to an infant with anomalies before the intervention were 16.30 (6.47) in the experimental group and 12.13 (6.31) in the control group. An independent samples t-test revealed a statistically significant difference between the mean pretest scores of the two groups (p = 0.032). After the intervention, the mean scores of anxieties concerning giving birth to an infant with anomalies were 8.56 (4.65) in the experimental group and 13.34 (6.47) in the control group. An ANCOVA demonstrated a statistically significant difference between the mean post-test scores of the two groups (p < 0.001).</span></span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span sans-serif=""><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times="">Conclusion:</span></i></b></span><span new="" roman="" times=""><span style="color:#2980b9;"> </span>Positive counseling reduces anxiety concerning giving birth to an infant with anomalies in pregnant women over 35 years of age.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span sans-serif="" style="font-family:Calibri,"><span style="font-size:8.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""></span></span></span></span></span></span> Positive Counseling, Anxiety, Infant, Anomaly 45 54 http://nmcjournal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-35-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Hadis Jalilvand 100319475328460013812 100319475328460013812 No Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran Mojghan Mokhtari Zanjani mokhtari@zums.ac.ir 100319475328460013813 100319475328460013813 No Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran Taraneh Emamgholi Khooshehchin khoosheh@zums.ac.ir 100319475328460013814 100319475328460013814 Yes Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran