Abstract
In addition to being a medical phenomenon, pandemics affect the individual and society on several levels and lead to disruptions. In the pandemic process, different groups in the population, including pregnant women as a defenseless group, are subjected to psychological threat. The present study aimed to determine the levels of anxiety and depression and related factors in pregnant women during the the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. The present cross-sectional study was conducted with 269 pregnant women through face-to-face interviews held in Istanbul, Turkey. Regarding the data collection tools, the Cronbach α reliability coefficient was of 0.90 for the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and of 0.85 for the Beck Depression Inventory. Among the participating pregnant women, 30.5% had mild, 17.5% had moderate, and 5.9% had severe anxiety symptoms, whereas 35.3% had mild, 16.7% had moderate, and 2.2% had severe depression symptoms. We found that those who were concerned about their health had 5.36 times (p = 0.04) more risk of developing anxiety, and 4.82 times (p = 0.01) more risk of developing depression than those who were not concerned. Those who had a history of psychiatric disease had 3.92 times (p = 0.02) more risk of developing anxiety than those without it. We determined that about half of the pregnant women included in the study had some degree of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. The risk factors for anxiety and depression among the pregnant women were determined as smoking, concerns about health and getting infected with the coronavirus, history of psychiatric disease, and undergoing regular antenatal care.
Highlights
After reporting cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on December 31st, 2019, on January 7th, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the discovery of a novel coronavirus (2019nCoV) that had not been determined in humans before
Among the participating pregnant women, 30.5% had mild, 17.5% had moderate, and 5.9% had severe anxiety symptoms, whereas 35.3% had mild, 16.7% had moderate, and 2.2% had severe depression symptoms. We found that those who were concerned about their health had 5.36 times (p 1⁄4 0.04) more risk of developing anxiety, and 4.82 times (p 1⁄4 0.01) more risk of developing depression than those who were not concerned
The risk factors for anxiety and depression among the pregnant women were determined as smoking, concerns about health and getting infected with the coronavirus, history of psychiatric disease, and undergoing regular antenatal care
Summary
After reporting cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on December 31st, 2019, on January 7th, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the discovery of a novel coronavirus (2019nCoV) that had not been determined in humans before. The existing situation leads to health problems such as stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, insomnia, denial, anger, and fear.[7] Pandemicrelated questions without precise answers, such as when it will end and treatment/protection methods, and the constant exposure to an information flow regarding the pandemic and its effects and recommendations/bans, like social isolation and staying home as much as possible, may especially affect the mental health of the society in a negative way. It has been reported[8] that signs like anxiety, depression, fear, stress and sleep disorders are being observed more frequently during the Covid-19 pandemic in healthy individuals. In addition to the unknown nature of the virus, the lack of information about its transmission, reproduction, risk factors, mortality rates and maternal and fetal effects may pose a risk for the physical health and for the mental health of individuals.[10]
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