COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts on mothers' and infants' mental health during pregnancy and shortly thereafter

doi:10.1177/13591045211009297

Review

. 2022 Jan;27(1):82-88.

doi: 10.1177/13591045211009297. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts on mothers' and infants' mental health during pregnancy and shortly thereafter

Noa Vardi¹, Gil Zalsman^{1

2

3

4}, Nir Madjar⁵, Abraham Weizman^{2

4

6}, Gal Shoval^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Child and Adolescent Division, Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tikva, Israel.
² Department of Psychiatry, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
³ Division of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
⁴ Felsenstein Medical Research Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
⁵ School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
⁶ Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tikva, Israel.

PMID: 33855857
PMCID: PMC8819552
DOI: 10.1177/13591045211009297

Review

COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts on mothers' and infants' mental health during pregnancy and shortly thereafter

Noa Vardi et al. Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2022 Jan.

. 2022 Jan;27(1):82-88.

doi: 10.1177/13591045211009297. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Authors

Noa Vardi¹, Gil Zalsman^{1

2

3

4}, Nir Madjar⁵, Abraham Weizman^{2

4

6}, Gal Shoval^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Child and Adolescent Division, Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tikva, Israel.
² Department of Psychiatry, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
³ Division of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
⁴ Felsenstein Medical Research Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
⁵ School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
⁶ Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tikva, Israel.

PMID: 33855857
PMCID: PMC8819552
DOI: 10.1177/13591045211009297

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a global crisis, with profound implications on public mental health. The current review focuses on the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of mothers and their infants during pregnancy and shortly after delivery. Literature shows that in similar disaster situations, mothers' stress reaction and mental health have a critical impact on infant development. Research data on perinatal mental health during the current COVID-19 pandemic is reviewed in conjunction with studies on the relationship between maternal stress, infant development, and psychopathology. Recommendations for perinatal mental health enhancement are discussed and topics for future research suggested.

Keywords: Pandemic; anxiety; depression; fetus/infant development; pregnancy; psychopathology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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References

1. Barzilay R., Lawrence G. M., Berliner A., Gur R. E., Leventer-Roberts M., Weizman A., Feldman B. (2020). Association between prenatal exposure to a 1-month period of repeated rocket attacks and neuropsychiatric outcomes up through age 9: A retrospective cohort study. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29(8), 1135–1142. 10.1007/s00787-019-01426-1 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Braunack-Mayer A., Tooher R., Collins J. E., Street J. M., Marshall H. (2013). Understanding the school community’s response to school closures during the H1N1 2009 influenza pandemic. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 344. 10.1186/1471-2458-13-344 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Brooks S. K., Webster R. K., Smith L. E., Woodland L., Wessely S., Greenberg N., Rubin G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet, 395(10227), 912–920. 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Caparros-Gonzalez R. A., Alderdice F. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic and perinatal mental health. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 38(3), 223–225. 10.1080/02646838.2020.1786910 - DOI - PubMed
1. Chambers C., Krogstad P., Bertrand K., Contreras D., Tobin N. H., Bode L., Aldrovandi G. (2020). Evaluation for SARS-CoV-2 in breast milk from 18 infected women. Journal of the American Medical Association, 324(13), 1347–1348. 10.1001/jama.2020.15580 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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[1] Barzilay R., Lawrence G. M., Berliner A., Gur R. E., Leventer-Roberts M., Weizman A., Feldman B. (2020). Association between prenatal exposure to a 1-month period of repeated rocket attacks and neuropsychiatric outcomes up through age 9: A retrospective cohort study. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29(8), 1135–1142. 10.1007/s00787-019-01426-1 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[2] Barzilay R., Lawrence G. M., Berliner A., Gur R. E., Leventer-Roberts M., Weizman A., Feldman B. (2020). Association between prenatal exposure to a 1-month period of repeated rocket attacks and neuropsychiatric outcomes up through age 9: A retrospective cohort study. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29(8), 1135–1142. 10.1007/s00787-019-01426-1 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[3] Braunack-Mayer A., Tooher R., Collins J. E., Street J. M., Marshall H. (2013). Understanding the school community’s response to school closures during the H1N1 2009 influenza pandemic. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 344. 10.1186/1471-2458-13-344 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[4] Braunack-Mayer A., Tooher R., Collins J. E., Street J. M., Marshall H. (2013). Understanding the school community’s response to school closures during the H1N1 2009 influenza pandemic. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 344. 10.1186/1471-2458-13-344 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[5] Brooks S. K., Webster R. K., Smith L. E., Woodland L., Wessely S., Greenberg N., Rubin G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet, 395(10227), 912–920. 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[6] Brooks S. K., Webster R. K., Smith L. E., Woodland L., Wessely S., Greenberg N., Rubin G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet, 395(10227), 912–920. 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[7] Caparros-Gonzalez R. A., Alderdice F. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic and perinatal mental health. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 38(3), 223–225. 10.1080/02646838.2020.1786910 - DOI - PubMed

[8] Caparros-Gonzalez R. A., Alderdice F. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic and perinatal mental health. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 38(3), 223–225. 10.1080/02646838.2020.1786910 - DOI - PubMed

[9] Chambers C., Krogstad P., Bertrand K., Contreras D., Tobin N. H., Bode L., Aldrovandi G. (2020). Evaluation for SARS-CoV-2 in breast milk from 18 infected women. Journal of the American Medical Association, 324(13), 1347–1348. 10.1001/jama.2020.15580 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[10] Chambers C., Krogstad P., Bertrand K., Contreras D., Tobin N. H., Bode L., Aldrovandi G. (2020). Evaluation for SARS-CoV-2 in breast milk from 18 infected women. Journal of the American Medical Association, 324(13), 1347–1348. 10.1001/jama.2020.15580 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts on mothers' and infants' mental health during pregnancy and shortly thereafter

Affiliations

COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts on mothers' and infants' mental health during pregnancy and shortly thereafter

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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References

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LinkOut - more resources

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