Anxiety level in pregnant women in the first year of COVID-19 pandemic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20213829Keywords:
COVID-19 pandemic, Pregnancy, Beck anxiety score, Anxiety levelAbstract
Background: The study was aimed to determine the effect of the ongoing infection on the anxiety level of pregnant women during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: In this study, a structured questionnaire and the Beck anxiety inventory were administered to pregnant women who volunteered to participate in the research among the ones who applied to the outpatient clinic for routine prenatal care from January 2021-March 2021.
Results: The study featured 200 pregnant women with a mean age of 28.3±6.8 years and a range of 18-45 years. The patients were divided into four groups according to their Beck score as minimal (38.5%), mild (42%), moderate (15.5%), and severe (4%) levels of anxiety. Women with moderate and severe levels of anxiety were observed to have higher rates of fear of getting infected with COVID-19, fear of infecting the baby, fear of death due to COVID-19, fear of losing her relative due to COVID-19, fear of losing her baby due to COVID-19, and fear of quarantine (p<0.001). Factors that independently affected the level of anxiety in pregnant women were examined by multivariate linear regression analysis. It was found that increasing age (β=0.246; p<0.001), fear of getting infected with COVID-19 (β=0.375; p<0.001), fear of death due to COVID-19 (β=0.105; p=0.044) and fear of losing her baby due to COVID-19 (β=0.205; p<0.001) positively associated with anxiety levels.
Conclusions: Because of the detrimental impact on both the mother and the infant, perinatal mental wellbeing is a major public health concern. Thus, aside from the follow-up of pregnant women by a multidisciplinary team of perinatology, neonatology, and intensive care specialists, it is essential to provide psychosocial support during the pandemic.
Metrics
References
Bouey J. From SARS to 2019-Coronavirus (nCoV): U.S.China Collaborations on Pandemic Response: Addendum. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. 2020. Available at: https: //www.rand.org/ pubs/testimonies/CT523z2.html. Accessed on 12 May 2021.
Yang Y, Peng F, Wang R, Guan K, Jiang T, Xu G, Chang C. The deadly coronaviruses: The 2003 SARS pandemic and the 2020 novel coronavirus epidemic in China. J Autoimmun. 2020;102434.
Pfefferbaum B, North CS. Mental Health and the Covid-19 Pandemic. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(6):510-2.
Schwartz DA, Graham AL. Potential maternal and infant outcomes from coronavirus 2019- NCOV (SARS-CoV-2) infecting pregnant women: Lessons from SARS, MERS, and other human coronavirus infections. Viruses. 2020;12(2):194.
Xiang YT, Yang Y, Li W, Zhang L, Zhang Q, Cheung T, Ng CH. Timely mental health care for the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak is urgently needed. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020;7(3):228-9.
Ulusoy M, Şahin N, Erkmen H. Turkish version of the Beck anxiety inventory: Psychometric properties. J Cogn Psychotherapy. 1998;12:163-72.
Dennis CL, Falah-Hassani K, Shiri R. Prevalence of antenatal and postnatal anxiety: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Psychiatry. 2017;210:315-23.
Özdin S, Bayrak Özdin Ş. Levels and predictors of anxiety, depression and health anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic in Turkish society: The importance of gender. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2020;66(5):504-11.
Verbeek T, Arjadi R, Vendrik JJ, Burger H, Berger MY. Anxiety and depression during pregnancy in Central America: a cross-sectional study among pregnant women in the developing country Nicaragua. BMC Psychiatry. 2015;15:292.
Wang C, Pan R, Wan X, Tan Y, Xu L, Ho CS, Ho RC. Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(5):1729.
World Health Organization. Global and regional estimates of violence against women: Prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence.2013. Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitst-ream/10665/85239/1/9789241564625. Accessed on 25 April 2020.
Vahratian A, Blumberg SJ, Terlizzi EP, Schiller JS. Symptoms of Anxiety or Depressive Disorder and Use of Mental Health Care Among Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, August 2020–February 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021;70:490-4.
Dagklis T, Tsakiridis I, Mamopoulos A, Athanasiadis A, Papazisis G. Anxiety during pregnancy in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. Available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3588542). Accessed on 25 April 2020.
Bavel JJV, Baicker K, Boggio PS, Capraro V, Cichocka A, Cikara M, et al. Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response. Nat Hum Behav. 2020;4(5):460-71.
Knight M, Bunch K, Vousden N, Morris E, Simpson N, Gale C, et al. UK Obstetric Surveillance System SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Pregnancy Collaborative Group. Characteristics and outcomes of pregnant women admitted to hospital with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in UK: national population-based cohort study. BMJ. 2020;369:2107.
Poon LC, Yang H, Kapur A, Melamed N, Dao B, Divakar H, et al. Global interim guidance on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during pregnancy and puerperium from FIGO and allied partners: Information for healthcare professionals. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2020;149(3):273-86.
Huizink AC, Mulder EJ, Buitelaar JK. Prenatal stress and risk for psychopathology: specific effects or induction of general susceptibility? Psychol Bull. 2004;130(1):115-42.
Lebel C, MacKinnon A, Bagshawe M, Tomfohr-Madsen L, Giesbrecht G. Elevated depression and anxiety symptoms among pregnant individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Affect Disord. 2020;277:5-13.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection and pregnancy. Version 13: updated 19 February 2021. Guidance for healthcare professionals on coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in pregnancy, published by the RCOG, Royal College of Midwives, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Public Health England and Public Health Scotland. Available at: https://www.rcog.org.uk/coronavirus-pregnancy. Accessed on 25 April 2020.
Brooks SK, Webster RK, Smith LE, Woodland L, Wessely S, Greenberg N, et al. The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. Lancet. 2020;395:912-20.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
