Anxiety and depression during pregnancy in the era of COVID-19

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate anxiety and depression in pregnant women during this global disease. Methods This was a cross-sectional study recruiting 120 pregnant women. The study was conducted at the outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital. We recruited women attending for antenatal care. Anxiety was evaluated using an Arabic validated Kuwait University Anxiety Scale (KUAS). Depression was evaluated using a validated Arabic form of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Results The study included 48 (40%) nulliparous and 72 (60%) multiparous women. The mean KUAS scores for nulliparous and multiparous women were 45.27±10.78 and 47.28±10.62. Both nulliparous and multiparous women had a fairly high possibility of depression. Fifty-three (44.2%) of them reported scores ≥ of 14. Ninety-three (77.5%) women thought that COVID-19 pandemic would affect their pregnancies. There was a significant association between the number of women reporting fear related to the COVID-19 pandemic and their KUAS and EPDS scores (p-value <0.001 each). Conclusions COVID-19 affected the mental health of pregnant women to a great extent. Care should be directed to measures that would decrease the impact of this pandemic on vulnerable populations.

Depression in pregnant and postpartum women during COVID-19 pandemic: systematic review and meta-analysis

“…A study conducted by Yan et al [87] (that included 23 studies with 20.569 participants) also found that the prevalence of depression in pregnant and postpartum women was high during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fears of contracting or transmitting COVID-19, worry about their pregnancy and the health of their newborn, the lockdowns/quarantine, poor economic conditions, loss of income, insufficient social support, and lack of access to healthcare professionals contributed significantly to the mental health of pregnant and postpartum women during the COVID-19 pandemic [28,29,35,40]. 8 During the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting the mental health needs of pregnant and postpartum women was a considerable challenge.…”

Factors associated with antenatal depression in the Kingdom of Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…This finding is comparable to the regional and international studies during the pandemic, who used EPDS. For example, 44.2% of Egyptian pregnant women [24] and 45.9% of Chinese pregnant women were having depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 outbreak [25]. However, research in Greece reports that antenatal depression remained at 13.5% during the pandemic [26].…”

“…Our findings should be interpreted with caution as they could be influenced by the sampling and survey techniques used (snowballing and Google Forms): the topic needs to be monitored after the pandemic has receded. It is helpful to note that recent other studies reported different percentages of depressive symptoms: China 45.9% [25], Greece 13.5% [26], Egypt 44.2% [24].…”

“…In an extensive review of previous studies on COVID-19, we found that COVID-19 is affecting the mental health of pregnant women to a variable extent [24]. One Egyptian study found that 44.2% of pregnant women were experiencing depressive symptoms during the pandemic [24]. Similarly a study from China reported that 45.9% of pregnant women were having depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 outbreak [25].…”

“…In an extensive review of previous studies on COVID-19, we found that COVID-19 is affecting the mental health of pregnant women to a variable extent [24]. One Egyptian study found that 44.2% of pregnant women were experiencing depressive symptoms during the pandemic [24].…”