Abstract
BackgroundCorona Virus Disease 19 (COVID-19) is a new pandemic, declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization, which could have negative consequences for pregnant and postpartum women. The scarce evidence published to date suggests that perinatal mental health has deteriorated since the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the few studies published so far have some limitations, such as a cross-sectional design and the omission of important factors for the understanding of perinatal mental health, including governmental restriction measures and healthcare practices implemented at the maternity hospitals. Within the Riseup-PPD COST Action, a study is underway to assess the impact of COVID-19 in perinatal mental health. The primary objectives are to (1) evaluate changes in perinatal mental health outcomes; and (2) determine the risk and protective factors for perinatal mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, we will compare the results between the countries participating in the study.MethodsThis is an international prospective cohort study, with a baseline and three follow-up assessments over a six-month period. It is being carried out in 11 European countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Israel, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom), Argentina, Brazil and Chile. The sample consists of adult pregnant and postpartum women (with infants up to 6 months of age). The assessment includes measures on COVID-19 epidemiology and public health measures (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker dataset), Coronavirus Perinatal Experiences (COPE questionnaires), psychological distress (BSI-18), depression (EPDS), anxiety (GAD-7) and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSD checklist for DSM-V).DiscussionThis study will provide important information for understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal mental health and well-being, including the identification of potential risk and protective factors by implementing predictive models using machine learning techniques. The findings will help policymakers develop suitable guidelines and prevention strategies for perinatal mental health and contribute to designing tailored mental health interventions.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04595123.
Highlights
Corona Virus Disease 19 (COVID-19) is a new pandemic, declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization, which could have negative consequences for pregnant and postpartum women
Pregnant women do not seem to be more likely to contract the infection than the general population [2,3,4], obstetric complications have been detected in infected pregnant women, including the threat of premature delivery, caesarean delivery and maternal complications in the postpartum period [3, 5]
We will evaluate the changes in (a) perinatal mental health symptoms; and (b) clinical risk indices for depression and anxiety disorders
Summary
Corona Virus Disease 19 (COVID-19) is a new pandemic, declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization, which could have negative consequences for pregnant and postpartum women. The few studies published so far have some limitations, such as a cross-sectional design and the omission of important factors for the understanding of perinatal mental health, including governmental restriction measures and healthcare practices implemented at the maternity hospitals. In light of the unprecedented crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, many perinatal healthcare practices have been changed in an attempt to reduce the risk of transmission of the novel coronavirus. These include cancelation of prenatal and postpartum courses routinely provided to mothers, adjustments to prenatal and postpartum appointments, restrictions to the partner’s presence during childbirth and postpartum visitation and, in some cases, face-to-face consultations replaced by teleconsultations [8, 9]. The lack of information about this new virus, the social isolation and perceived loneliness, women’s worries over their own health and fear of infection and transmission of the virus to their fetus/newborn, together with sudden changes in maternity-care practices, may result in increased psychological distress during the perinatal period [11]
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