Aim:  The aim of this study is to compare the antenatal anxiety levels of pregnant women scheduled for vaginal delivery or cesarean delivery.

Material & Method: This is a descriptive study. The study population included all the women admitted to the department of obstetrics of Bağcılar Maternity Hospital for delivery. The study sample consisted of 83 women who volunteered to participate in the study. The data were collected with a Participant Information Form developed by the researchers, the State Anxiety Inventory, and face-to-face interviews conducted immediately after admission to the delivery room. The data obtained were calculated using percentage and t test.

Results: The mean ages of the cesarean group (n=37) and the vaginal group (n=46) were 25.95±5.83 and 30.35 ±6.88, respectively; the means of years of education for the cesarean group and the vaginal group were 5.0±3.8 and 4.19±3.91 years, respectively; and the majority of the women (94%) were housewives. Also, 28.9% of the women were nulliparous and 71.1% of them were multiparous, 66.3% of them preferred vaginal delivery, mode of delivery was decided by doctors alone by 50.6%, and only 32.5% of them received antenatal education. The anxiety scale mean scores of the vaginal and cesarean delivery groups were 45.93 ± 06.09 and 47.51 ± 8.3, respectively, but there was no significant difference between the overall anxiety scores of the two groups (P> 0.05, p = 0.434).

Conclusion: The study found that the pregnant women scheduled for vaginal delivery or cesarean delivery had similar levels of antenatal anxiety.