Prenatal Anxiety, Perceived Stress, and Coping Behaviour regarding Covid-19 among Pregnant Women at a selected Hospital, Kochi, South India

Abstract

Background: The uncertainty brought about by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) disease threatens the mental well-being of pregnant women with stress and anxiety. Further, pregnancy is a period of mixed feelings, aggravated by hormonal imbalances. This study aimed to describe pregnant women’s prenatal anxiety, perceived stress, and coping behaviour. Method: The study (N=384) utilised a cross-sessional design. Respondents were recruited by consecutive sampling. Through online mode, a structured proforma was used to collect demographics. The “Beck Anxiety Inventory Scale” was used to measure the prenatal anxiety level. Perceived stress was examined by administering the “Perceived Stress Scale,” and the “Brief Cope Scale” was used to assess the coping behaviour among participants. The data were analysed to determine the level of Covid-19-related anxiety, perceived stress, and coping behaviour adopted by the participants. This was done by using SPSS software, IBM SPSS 20, and p<0.05level of significance. Results: The majority of pregnant women, 210(55%), showed moderate anxiety. Their anxieties were related to Covid-19. The commonly found anxiety symptoms among pregnant women in this study were wobbliness in the legs, a feeling of hotness, numbness or tingling, faint or light-headedness, and hot or cold sweats. There was a moderate positive correlation (r=0.566, significant at p<0.001) between perceived stress and prenatal anxiety. The Coefficient of Determination showed that 32% of prenatal anxiety was accounted for by the perceived stress of the mother. The mean perceived stress score was 16.88+6.218, with a range of 9, and the mean coping behaviour score was 57.99+20, with a range of 20. The degree of correlation between perceived stress and coping behaviour had a moderate positive correlation (r=0.444, significant at p<0.001level). Conclusions: The study demonstrated increased anxiety and perceived stress that was related to Covid-19 amongst pregnant women.

Prevalence of Perinatal Anxiety and Related Disorders in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

“…Given that generalized anxiety disorder was reported across 184 studies, we were able to further interrogate the prevalence of this disorder across important subgroups (Figure 3). While investigating generalized anxiety by country income status, we found a higher prevalence among studies performed in lower-middle–income countries (27.6%; 95% CI, 21.6%-33.9%; 59 studies; n = 25 109) compared with low-income countries (24.0%; 95% CI, 15.3%-33.8%; 11 studies; n = 4961). Upper-middle–income countries had the lowest prevalence (19.1%; 95% CI, 16.0%-22.4%; 110 studies; n = 138 496).…”

“…Generalized anxiety disorder (including anxiety not specified) was the most commonly reported anxiety disorder, examined by 184 of 203 studies (90.6%) . The pooled point prevalence for generalized anxiety disorder was 22.2% (95% CI, 19.4%-25.0%; n = 173 553).…”

“…Our search identified 10 617 studies; 1231 full texts were reviewed, and of these, 203 studies were included (Figure 1; eTable 2 in Supplement 1). Cumulatively, outcomes were reported for 212 318 perinatal women (from conception to 12 months post birth) from 33 LMICs. The prevalence estimates of 6 anxiety and related disorders were reported: generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and adjustment disorder.…”

“…The majority of studies reported the prevalence of generalized anxiety antenatally (150 [81.5%]). Among these, the pooled point prevalence was 23.9% (95% CI, 20.5%-27.4%; n = 149 485).…”

“…Next, we assessed the prevalence of generalized anxiety by method of assessment. Screening tools were used in 153 studies (17 different questionnaires), and 30 studies used a structured or semistructured diagnostic interview (8 types). One study used both .…”