Behavioral Responses of Pregnant Women to the Early Stage of COVID-19 Pandemic in the Network Era in China: Online Questionnaire Study

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the behavioral responses of pregnant women during the early stage of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Methods: We recruited 1,099 women to complete an online questionnaire survey from February 10 to February 25, 2020. The subjects were divided into two groups (the pregnant women group and the control group). Results: Concerns about infection: most of the participants watched the COVID-19 news at least once a day. Protective behaviors: the utilization rate of pregnant women (often using various measures) was higher than that of nonpregnant women. Exercise: 30.6% of the pregnant women continued to exercise at home, whereas in the control group, this percentage was 8.4%. Spouse relationship: 38.8% of the subjects’ relationship improved, whereas only 2.3% thought the relationship was getting worse. Conclusion: Pregnant women had some unique behavioral responses different from that of nonpregnant women. It is important to understand the behavioral responses of pregnant women in this network era.

Keywords

• Behavior
• COVID-19
• Public health
• Pregnant women