Stress and Anxiety Levels in Pregnant and Post-Partum Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze stress and anxiety levels experienced by pregnant and post-partum women during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to indicate the social and medical factors that could contribute to stress and anxiety. A total of 210 patients were enrolled in the study. Two well-established test-tools were applied: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). The study revealed that the levels of stress and anxiety experienced by the surveyed patients were moderate to high. We demonstrated that women with mental treatment history, those in the first trimester of pregnancy and the ones that are single or in an informal relationship tend to experience higher levels of psychological distress and anxiety. Such factors as age, education, parity, eventful obstetric history, comorbidities, and the number of hospital stays proved to be statistically insignificant in the analysis. Our findings could be used to identify patients at greater risk of experiencing adverse mental effects and to provide them with adequate psychological support. Further multi-center studies are warranted in order to draw final conclusions.

Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety, and Perceived Stress in Postpartum Mexican Women during the COVID-19 Lockdown

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on perceived stress prevalence during postpartum in Latin-American women during the COVID-19 lockdown. In our study, the mean ± SD of the total score for PSS-10 was similar to that reported in Polish women (18.4 ± 18) [27].…”

“…Total scores range between 0 and 40, with higher scores indicating more perceived stress. In the present study, perceived stress was classified as low (0-13), moderate (14-26), or high (27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40), as suggested by others [35,36]. The PSS-10 scale had good reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.89).…”

“…According to a recent systematic review, few studies have investigated the prevalence of anxiety in the postpartum period [ 15 ]. Stepowicz et al reported a prevalence of 34.8% of high anxiety levels among pregnant and postpartum women and a prevalence of 43.3% of high-stress levels among North American women [ 27 ].…”

Women's Mental Health During Pregnancy under the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic: A Review of Foreign Studies

“…Данные относительно выраженности нарушений психического здоровья в период пандемии в связи триместрами или после рождения ребенка довольно противоречивы. В одном исследовании [25] наиболее высокие показатели тревоги характерны для женщин после рождения ребенка, в другом исследовании [14] наибольшие значения тревоги наблюдаются у женщин в третьем триместре; польские авторы отмечают большую выраженность тревоги в первом триместре [23].…”

“…Также результаты исследования свидетельствуют, что показатели личностной тревоги и стресса выше среди тех женщин, которые получали лечение в области психического здоровья (психотерапевтическое или психофармакологическое), а показатели ситуативной тревоги оказались достоверно связаны с наличием у женщины партнера: те, у кого он был, реже испытывали ситуативную тревогу. Также при сравнении уровней тревоги у женщин, находящихся в разных триместрах, было показано, что высокий уровень ситуативной тревоги испытывают женщины в первом триместре (82%), 74% -во втором триместре, и около 50% -в третьем триместре и после рождения ребенка [23].…”