Anxiety and Worries among Pregnant Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multilevel Analysis

Abstract

Background. Several studies have identified pregnant women as a vulnerable group during the COVID-19 pandemic. The perinatal period has been identified as a stage of great risk for the mental health of pregnant women, due to a large increase in mental pathologies during this period. In this context, the objective of the present study was to assess the associations between socioeconomic and demographic factors, health concerns and health information management, and anxiety level during the COVID-19 pandemic in pregnant Spanish women. Method. The sample of this cross-sectional study was comprised of 353 pregnant women, aged 18 or older and residing in Spain. Data collection was carried out from 1 June to 30 September 2020. Participants were recruited from Quirónsalud University Hospital of Madrid. Multilevel regression models were built to value the associations between demographic factors, health concerns and health information management, and anxiety level during the COVID-19 pandemic among pregnant women. Results. Reduced working hours and income due to the COVID-19 pandemic were related to increased anxiety levels, as was the level of concern about COVID-19 symptoms, potential complications, contagion and consequences for the baby. Worries caused by restrictive measures adopted against COVID-19 and resulting isolation, delivery, postpartum and breastfeeding were also associated with increased anxiety levels. Being a separated or divorced woman and being informed to a greater extent by a midwife were related to lower anxiety levels. An increase in the degree of information obtained about COVID-19 symptoms, complications, contagion and consequences for the baby, restrictive measures and isolation adopted against COVID-19, delivery, postpartum and breastfeeding, were also related to decreased anxiety levels. Conclusions. The most vulnerable future mothers in terms of anxiety levels are those with reduced working hours and income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those with a higher level of concern and who had access to a lesser degree of information about COVID-19 (symptoms and complications, contagion and consequences on the baby, restrictive measures and isolation, delivery, postpartum and breastfeeding), as well as pregnant women who have obtained information about COVID-19 during pregnancy from TV.

The influence of lifestyles to cope with stress over mental health in pregnant and postpartum women during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Regarding COVID-19 exposures and symptoms, our results suggest that having symptoms and/or confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis were related to anxiety and PTSD only in pregnant women. These results can be explained by concerns about foetal health (Esteban-Gonzalo et al, 2021;Meraya et al, 2021;Mortazavi et al, 2021). In addition, experiencing the death of a close person due to COVID-19 was related to anxiety and depression in postpartum women but not in pregnant women and to PTSD symptoms in both pregnant and postpartum women.…”

Parental experiences with changes in maternity care during the Covid-19 pandemic: A mixed-studies systematic review

“…Women also mentioned the lack of updates and information from the hospital on the risk of COVID-19 in pregnancy, COVID-19 symptoms and complications, and available health services, hence they had to be proactive in information seeking [40] , [43] , [52] , [54] , [55] , [56] . According to Estaban-Gonzalo et al’s study [61] , women with higher satisfaction levels with the information provided by healthcare professionals and a greater degree of information about COVID-19 restrictions, symptoms, and complications had a lower state anxiety score, whereas lack of information on restrictive measures was associated with higher state anxiety scores.…”

“…In Liu’s study [70] , 45.8% of mothers did not have a support person during birth, and another study [49] found lower birth satisfaction in mothers who did not have a birth support partner than those who had. Qualitative findings often reported negative experiences of mothers who did not have a support partner present during labour [30] , [36] , [39] , [45] , [46] , [61] , [66] , [68] , [87] . Some mothers perceived the absence of a birth partner as a loss of reassurance and advocate [55] , [78] while others felt alone, stressed, anxious, and that their mental health was at stake [44] , [45] , [52] , [65] .…”

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 virus antibodies and sociodemographic features of pregnant women in Mogadishu, Somalia: a cross-sectional survey study

“…Moreover, investigations have shown women to be a vulnerable group during the COVID-19 pandemic. This worry is even more among pregnant women who occasionally experience pregnancy and postpartum mental illnesses (depression, anxiety and postpartum psychosis), resulting in bipolar disorder 17. These situations are a cause for concern in Somalia, whose women of reproductive age represent 38% of the household, with a worrying maternal mortality rate of 692 18.…”