Does the COVID-19 pandemic have an impact on fears and concerns among pregnant women?

Abstract

Introduction: Anxiety and depressive symptoms are common during pregnancy. The occurrence of the COVID-19 virus pandemic is a unique stressor that affected the psychological course of delivery. The aim of the work is to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the course of pregnancy and childbirth among the Polish population. Material and methods: The study group consisted of 2186 women. A questionnaire survey was conducted between November 2020 and December 2020 via the Internet. The inclusion criterion was pregnancy and childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors’ questions, with a five-point Likert scale, were used to assess concern and discomfort. Results: Women hospitalized during pregnancy had more pregnancy-related fears and concerns (mean 30.9 vs 29.6; p = 0.007). A similar relationship was found for women who had a cesarean section (30.6 vs 29.5; p = 0.006) or were hospitalized > 7 days (31.8 vs 29.7; p = 0.012). A statistically significant weak correlation was found between the mean scores of the concern questions and the number of hospitalizations during pregnancy (Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.1654; p < 0.000). Conclusions: This study found alarmingly high levels of anxiety in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have long-term implications for their children.

Keywords

• covid-19
• pregnancy
• childbirth
• anxiety
• stress