Abstract
BackgroundThe impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of pregnant and lactating women is unclear. This study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on psychological health, sexual function, and quality of life (QoL) in Iranian pregnant and lactating women and compare the results with non-pregnant/non-lactating women.MethodThis comparative cross-sectional study was carried out on pregnant and lactating women, with non-pregnant/non-lactating women from May to Jun 2020. Patients were asked to complete three questionnaires: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), and Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12). One-way ANOVA was used to reveal the statistical differences between the three groups.ResultThe mean age of patients was 20.81 ± 5.92 years old. The mean (SD) score of HADS in pregnant, lactating and non-pregnant / non-lactating women were 12.11 (6.72), 11.98 (8.44) and 9.38 (6.2) respectively, and the results showed that the scores in pregnant, lactating women were higher than non-pregnant / non-lactating women (P < 0.001). Also the mean (SD) score of QOL and FSFI was 68.29 (9.47), 74.18 (12.65), 79.03 (10.48) and 22.71 (8.16), 22.72 (8.16), 26.19 (3.93) in three groups and the scores in pregnant, lactating women were lower than non-pregnant/non-lactating women (P < 0.001).ConclusionThe COVID-19 epidemic increases the risk of depression, anxiety, FSD, and lowers QoL in pregnant and lactating women, with the general population. This suggests the urgent need for psychological intervention in the maternal population during the epidemic.
Highlights
The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of pregnant and lactating women is unclear
The mean (SD) score of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in pregnant, lactating and non-pregnant / non-lactating women were 12.11 (6.72), 11.98 (8.44) and 9.38 (6.2) respectively, and the results showed that the scores in pregnant, lactating women were higher than non-pregnant / non-lactating women (P < 0.001)
Depression and anxiety In the results of this study, pregnant and lactating women got significantly lower scores in both dimensions of mental status, compared to the nonpregnant / non-lactating women. These results seem to be consistent with Wu et al research, which found the impact of COVID-19 awareness on the increasing prevalence of prenatal depression (PND)
Summary
The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of pregnant and lactating women is unclear. This study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on psychological health, sexual function, and quality of life (QoL) in Iranian pregnant and lactating women and compare the results with non-pregnant/non-lactating women. Previous studies on the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic have shown that pregnant women are more susceptible to be anxious compared to non-pregnant women; these included anxiety about infection, the transmission of infection to the fetus, acquired infection during childbirth, and teratogenicity of microorganisms and medicines. They were scared of going to hospital and health care centers and postponed their prenatal care [6]. Yanting Wu et al have argued that reducing physical activity is a modifiable cause of depression during the epidemic [7]
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