Trajectories of distress from pregnancy to 15-months post-partum during the COVID-19 pandemic

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1104386

. 2023 Mar 31:14:1104386.

doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1104386. eCollection 2023.

Trajectories of distress from pregnancy to 15-months post-partum during the COVID-19 pandemic

Jennifer E Khoury¹, Marc Jambon², Lauren Giles¹, Leslie Atkinson³, Andrea Gonzalez^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
² Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
³ Department of Psychology, Metropolitan Toronto University, Toronto ON, Canada.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
⁵ Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.

PMID: 37063573
PMCID: PMC10102331
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1104386

Trajectories of distress from pregnancy to 15-months post-partum during the COVID-19 pandemic

Jennifer E Khoury et al. Front Psychol. 2023.

. 2023 Mar 31:14:1104386.

doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1104386. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jennifer E Khoury¹, Marc Jambon², Lauren Giles¹, Leslie Atkinson³, Andrea Gonzalez^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
² Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
³ Department of Psychology, Metropolitan Toronto University, Toronto ON, Canada.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
⁵ Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.

PMID: 37063573
PMCID: PMC10102331
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1104386

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has particularly burdened pregnant and postpartum women. It remains unclear how distress levels of pregnant and postpartum people have changed (or persisted) as the pandemic continues on and which factors may contribute to these trajectories of distress.

Methods: This longitudinal study included 304 pregnant people, who were followed during pregnancy, 6-weeks, 6-months and 15-months postpartum. At each time point, a latent "distress" factor was estimated using self-reported depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and stress. Reported negative impact of COVID-19 and social support were assessed during pregnancy as risk and protective factors related to distress. Second-order latent growth curve modeling with a piecewise growth function was used to estimate initial levels and changes in distress over time.

Results: Mean distress was relatively stable from the pregnancy to 6-weeks postpartum and then declined from 6-weeks to 15-months postpartum. Higher education, greater social support, and lower negative impact of COVID-19 were associated with a lower distress during pregnancy. Unexpectedly, negative impact of COVID-19 was associated with a faster decrease in distress and more social support was associated with a greater increase in distress from pregnancy to 6-weeks postpartum. However, these effects became non-significant after controlling for distress during pregnancy.

Conclusion: Findings indicate high but declining levels of distress from pregnancy to the postpartum period. Changes in distress are related to social support and the negative impact of the pandemic in pregnancy. Findings highlight the continued impact of COVID-19 on perinatal mental health and the need for support to limit the burden of this pandemic on pregnant people and families.

Keywords: COVID-19; parent mental health; perinatal stress; postpartum depression; pregnancy.

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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**
Percentage of the sample above the clinical cut-off for depression and anxiety across time.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

Cited by

A Qualitative Investigation of the Experiences of Women with Perinatal Depression and Anxiety during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Rokicki S, Mackie TI, D'Oria R, Flores M, Watson A, Byatt N, Suplee P. Rokicki S, et al. Matern Child Health J. 2024 Feb;28(2):274-286. doi: 10.1007/s10995-023-03809-y. Epub 2023 Nov 9. Matern Child Health J. 2024. PMID: 37943397

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[1] Ali E. (2018). Women’s experiences with postpartum anxiety disorders: a narrative literature review. IJWH 10, 237–249. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S158621 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[2] Ali E. (2018). Women’s experiences with postpartum anxiety disorders: a narrative literature review. IJWH 10, 237–249. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S158621 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[3] American Psychological Association (2008). Postpartum depression: causes, symptoms, risk factors, and treatment options. Available at: https://www.apa.org/pi/women/resources/reports/postpartum-depression

[4] American Psychological Association (2008). Postpartum depression: causes, symptoms, risk factors, and treatment options. Available at: https://www.apa.org/pi/women/resources/reports/postpartum-depression

[5] Anderson E. M., Malmgren J. A., Carter W. B., Patrick D. L. (1994). Screening for depression in well older adults: evaluation of a short form of the CES-D (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale). Am. J. Prev. Med. 10, 77–84. - PubMed

[6] Anderson E. M., Malmgren J. A., Carter W. B., Patrick D. L. (1994). Screening for depression in well older adults: evaluation of a short form of the CES-D (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale). Am. J. Prev. Med. 10, 77–84. - PubMed

[7] Awad-Sirhan N., Simó-Teufel S., Molina-Muñoz Y., Cajiao-Nieto J., Izquierdo-Puchol M. T. (2022). Factors associated with prenatal stress and anxiety in pregnant women during COVID-19 in Spain. Enfermería Clínica (English Ed.) 32, S5–S13. doi: 10.1016/j.enfcle.2021.10.003 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[8] Awad-Sirhan N., Simó-Teufel S., Molina-Muñoz Y., Cajiao-Nieto J., Izquierdo-Puchol M. T. (2022). Factors associated with prenatal stress and anxiety in pregnant women during COVID-19 in Spain. Enfermería Clínica (English Ed.) 32, S5–S13. doi: 10.1016/j.enfcle.2021.10.003 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[9] Baena-Díez J. M., Barroso M., Cordeiro-Coelho S. I., Díaz J. L., Grau M. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 outbreak by income: hitting hardest the most deprived. J. Public Health 42, 698–703. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdaa136 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[10] Baena-Díez J. M., Barroso M., Cordeiro-Coelho S. I., Díaz J. L., Grau M. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 outbreak by income: hitting hardest the most deprived. J. Public Health 42, 698–703. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdaa136 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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Trajectories of distress from pregnancy to 15-months post-partum during the COVID-19 pandemic

Affiliations

Trajectories of distress from pregnancy to 15-months post-partum during the COVID-19 pandemic

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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