Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has meant significant precautions and changes in delivering healthcare services. The aim of the study was to explore the lifestyle changes of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania, the changes in prenatal care and delivery during the pandemic and the psychological impact on women and to determine how healthcare providers can help them to overcome this period. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted anonymously and distributed among pregnancy-related groups from Romania, recruiting 559 study participants, between May and October 2020. A total of 559 pregnant women completed an online 26-item questionnaire but we only validated 557 responses for study. The survey included basic demographic questions, pregnancy-related questions, questions regarding the pregnant women’s lifestyle changes during the pandemic and their perception of the COVID-19 pandemic and questions which evaluated the impact of the pandemic on prenatal care and delivery in Romania. Results: The pandemic restrictions affected women’s routine activities regarding professional, familial and social life. Therefore, for pregnant women who were emotionally vulnerable, these restrictions had a great impact on their mental health. The majority of the study participants (78.8%, N = 439) were emotionally affected by the pandemic. The fear related to the possibility of having their pregnancy affected by the virus was dominant in the group (45.8%). A high number of women (69.5%) felt safe when they accessed health services, but private hospitals were considered safer (53.1%) compared to public hospitals (14.4%). The majority of participants (53.7%) used to have prenatal care in a private healthcare system. During the pandemic, preventive measures were associated with low confidence in the healthcare system. Of the total group of participants, 123 women (22.1%) gave birth during the pandemic. Of these, a majority of the study participants considered that it was very difficult for them to cope without their partner during the hospitalization and labor period. Conclusions: The main anxiety of pregnant women were related to threats to their lives and their baby’s health because of the uncertainty caused by pandemic. It is important to know that the restrictions and the changes in maternity care had a negative impact on them. This conclusion must be taken into account when preventive measures will be decided for helping them to get through such a period. Additionally, psychological support will be essential for improving the mental health of pregnant women and for preventing a negative outcome of the pregnancy. These feelings must be taken into account when preventive measures will be established during pandemic and a psychological support will be essential for improving their mental health for preventing negative outcome of pregnancy.

Background Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals are experiencing severe mental distress. Thus, during the last year, drastic changes occurred in everyday life of every human being. Following social distancing and economic insecurity, significant increases in mental health concerns (loneliness, anxiety, depression, or insomnia) have developed. Methods Following social distancing and economic insecurity, significant increases in mental health concerns (loneliness, anxiety, depression, or insomnia) have developed. The objective of this study was to explore the sleep quality in students and employees, during the COVID-19 pandemic. 620 responses were validated. Results In this study, more than 20% of the participants scored above the cut-off score for insomnia and almost 40% screened positive for mild problems with sleep. All these results are indicating an exacerbation of sleep disturbances. Although there is an increased prevalence of sleep disorders among respondents, these changes were not directly associated with the presence of the infection or its severity, but rather with various demographic, socio-economic variables and finally with the presence of a pre-existing psychiatric disorder. Conclusions In conclusion, sleep disorders among students and employees are a major health issue associated with great psychological burden. Up to date, research of insomnia during a pandemic crisis is limited. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study to explore sleep difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic in students and employees in Romania. This study uncovered a high-level of insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Women, single people, or presence of psychiatric disorders were more susceptible to sleep difficulties.