Mental health of pregnant and postpartum women in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Perzow, Sarah E. D.; Hennessey, Ella‐Marie P.; Hoffman, M. Camille; Grote, Nancy K.; Davis, Elysia Poggi; Hankin, Benjamin L.

doi:10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100123

Cited by 126 publications

(145 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…It is composed of 20 items with a 4-point scale (0–3 points) and a final score between 0 and 60. A higher score corresponds to increased anxiety level [ 52 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Esteban-Gonzalo

Caballero-Galilea

Pascual

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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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.

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“…It is composed of 20 items with a 4-point scale (0–3 points) and a final score between 0 and 60. A higher score corresponds to increased anxiety level [ 52 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Esteban-Gonzalo

Caballero-Galilea

Pascual

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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“…Recently, some studies have focused on the mental health of pregnant women and have reported an increase in depressive symptoms (Ceulemans et al 2020;Dong et al 2020;Durankuş and Aksu 2020;Perzow et al 2021;Sun et al 2020), anxiety symptoms (Hessami et al 2020;Kotabagi et al 2020;Liu et al 2020), perceived distress (Berthelot et al 2020), lower mental health (Kwasi Ahorsu et al 2020), and moderate psychological impact due to confinement (Saccone et al 2020). Zhou et al (2020) have indicated that psychopathological symptoms increase as the number of cases of COVID infection or death increases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal study on prenatal depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic

López-Morales

Valle

Andrés

et al. 2021

Arch Womens Ment Health

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Several studies have reported the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic context on mental health. Given that pregnant women constitute a vulnerable group, they may be at greater risk for developing psychopathological symptoms due to the confinement. The current study aimed to longitudinally analyze the presence and evolution of indicators of depression and anxiety in pregnant and non-pregnant women, and to identify the differential effects of social isolation or distancing measures on these groups. Participants were 105 pregnant and 105 non-pregnant Argentine adult women. They completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and closed-ended questions on sociodemographic factors, at four different times. Results showed a progressive increase in anxiety and depressive symptoms in the first 50 days of confinement in both groups, and a slight decrease after approximately 150 days. Pregnant women presented a more pronounced initial increase in symptoms, and a weaker decrease at the last wave, compared to the non-pregnant. Results suggest that the pandemic context produces a moderate negative early response and that the initial flexibilizations of sanitary measures (50 days) did not slow down the progression of symptoms (even less in pregnant women). In conclusion, being pregnant could be an extra risk factor for the development of psychopathological symptoms during this pandemic. The particular vulnerability of pregnant women and the associated potential negative effects both on them and on their offspring underline the importance of perinatal health policies aimed at prevention and treatment of possible future consequences.

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“…Besides, a current longitudinal study across racial and ethnic groups of women during the prenatal and postpartum periods showed that depressive and anxiety symptoms were higher during COVID-19 relative to pre-COVID-19. This increase in depressive symptoms was accompanied by more loneliness (49).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Cerebral Regional Homogeneity Alternation of Pregnant Women With Antenatal Depression During the Pandemic

et al. 2021

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Purpose: The COVID-19 epidemic has been a threat to the health of people all over the world. Various precautions during COVID-19 in China have kept a large number of people in isolation, and this has inconvenienced and placed enormous stress on pregnant women. Pregnant women are more likely to suffer from antenatal depression (ANDP) with social isolation or low social support. This research aims to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms underlying ANDP, which impedes early detection and intervention in this disorder.Methods: A total of 43 singleton pregnant women who experienced isolation were recruited, including 21 treatment-naïve ANDP patients and 22 healthy pregnant women (HPW). To explore the intrinsic cerebral activity alternations in ANDP using resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI), we assessed the local regional homogeneity (ReHo) differences in two groups using the voxel-based whole-brain analysis. The correlation between the regional functional abnormalities and clinical variables in ANDP patients was also examined.Results: Compared with HPW, ANDP patients showed decreased ReHo in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, right insular and the cluster coving the right ventral temporal cortex (VTC), amygdala (AMG), and hippocampus (HIP). The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores of ANDP patients negatively correlated with the ReHo in the right VTC, AMG, and HIP.Conclusion: Elucidating the neurobiological features of ANDP patients during COVID-19 is crucial for evolving adequate methods for early diagnosis, precaution, and intervention in a future epidemic.

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Mental health of pregnant and postpartum women in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 126 publications

References 47 publications

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

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

Longitudinal study on prenatal depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cerebral Regional Homogeneity Alternation of Pregnant Women With Antenatal Depression During the Pandemic

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