Pandemic-related stress in pregnant women during the first COVID-19 lockdown and neonatal development

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Maternal stress and psychopathology have a negative effect on mothers and neonates. Maternal stress may affect neonatal growth and development both physically and psychologically. Purpose To study the impact of pandemic-related pregnancy stress and maternal psychopathological symptoms during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 on neonatal development. Methods A two-phase prospective study was carried out on a sample of 181 pregnant women ranged from 18 to 40 years old in Spain (Europe). Phase 1: Pandemic-related pregnancy stress (PREPS), Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (PDQ), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the revised version of the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90-R) were used to assess psychological symptoms during the lockdown. In the follow-up (Phase 2), obstetric, birth-related and anthropometric variables were collected from 81 pregnant women-neonates dyads. Results Primiparous women showed higher psychopathological symptoms and higher levels of pandemic-related pregnancy stress than multiparous women. A multiple linear regression model showed that pandemic-related pregnancy stress could predict the length of neonate by adjusting for maternal age and gestational age, especially for primiparous women. Implications for research Studies assessing neonates development should evaluate the long-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on neonates´ length. Implications for practice States the relation between pandemic-related pregnancy stress and neonatal development by being able to track the effects on neonates whose mothers had high levels of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.