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. 2022 Apr 12:10:790518.
doi: 10.3389/fped.2022.790518. eCollection 2022.

Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pregnant Women

Danilo Buonsenso  1   2   3 , Walter Malorni  3 , Arianna Turriziani Colonna  1 , Sofia Morini  1 , Martina Sbarbati  1 , Alessandro Solipaca  4 , Antonio Di Mauro  5 , Brigida Carducci  1 , Antonio Lanzone  1 , Umberto Moscato  3 , Simonetta Costa  1 , Giovanni Vento  1 , Piero Valentini  1   2   3
Affiliations

Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pregnant Women

Danilo Buonsenso et al. Front Pediatr. .

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, type of delivery, and neonatal feeding of pregnant women with or without SARS-CoV-2 infection during gestation.

Study design: The study was conducted online, and anonymous survey was distributed to mothers that delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results: The survey was completed by 286 women, and 64 women (22.4%) had COVID-19 during pregnancy. Women that had SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy or at time of delivery had a significantly higher probability of being separated from the newborn (p < 0.0001) and a significantly lower probability of breastfeeding (p < 0.0001). The Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale, to assess if mothers had symptoms of postnatal depression, showed that items suggestive of postnatal depression were relatively frequent in the whole cohort. However, women with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy reported higher probability of responses suggestive of postnatal depression in eight out of 10 items, with statistically significant differences in three items.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic affected the type of delivery and breastfeeding of pregnant women, particularly when they had SARS-CoV-2 infection. This, in turn, had an impact on the psychological status of the interviewed mothers, aspects that could benefit of special support.

Keywords: COVID-19; breastfeeding; newborns; pregnant women; psychological impact.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Rate of breastfeeding (A) and rooming-in (B) according to SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy. The main emotional reactions after women discovered being pregnant (C) or having SARS-CoV-2 infection (D).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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