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As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread globally, a significant portion of pregnant and delivering women were infected with COVID-19. While emerging studies examined birth outcomes in COVID-19 positive women, knowledge of the psychological experience of childbirth and maternal wellness remains lacking. This matched-control survey-based study included a sample of women recruited during the first wave of the pandemic in the US who gave birth in the previous six months. Women reporting confirmed/suspected COVID-19 (n = 68) during pregnancy or childbirth were matched on background factors with women reporting COVID-19 negativity (n = 2,276). We found nearly 50% of COVID positive women endorsed acute traumatic stress symptoms at a clinical level in response to childbirth. This group was more than twice as likely to endorse acute stress and to have no visitors during maternity hospitalization than COVID negative women; they were also less likely to room-in with newborns. The COVID positive group reported higher levels of pain in delivery, lower newborn weights, and more infant admission to neonatal intensive care units. Our findings suggest COVID-19 affected populations are at increased risk for traumatic childbirth and associated risk for psychiatric morbidity. Attention to delivering women’s wellbeing is warranted during the pandemic.

We examined the relationship between second language anxiety and international nursing student stress after taking into account the demographic, cognitive, and acculturative factors. International nursing students (N=152) completed an online questionnaire battery. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that spoken second language anxiety and the acculturative factors of marginalization and separation were significantly related to academic-related and placement-related stress in international nursing students. The results suggest that international nursing students, along with the pressures of their course, encounter second language anxiety particularly with reference to its spoken aspect. Subsequently, interventions aimed at building resilience in international nursing students should include coping and management of second language issues.