Pregnant women: psychology, cognitive and behavioral responses, and solutions towards COVID-19

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) has spread globally and is highly infectious, causing psychological disturbances such as anxiety, depression, or both. Pregnant women, as a vulnerable population, need further attention. This study aims to evaluate the psychological impact of pregnant women during COVID-19 to constitute base data for solution guidance. Using a self-designed questionnaire, self-rated anxiety scale (SAS), and self-rated depression scale (SDS), we conducted a web-based survey on 1160 pregnant women from February 20 to April 30, 2020. The prevalence of anxiety and depression during pregnancy was shown to be 12.93% and 31.21%, respectively. Besides, younger age, housewives, lower education level, and early pregnancy all contributed to psychological disturbance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results revealed significant variations in cognitive and behavioral responses based on the levels of the COVID-19 pandemic concerns, perceptions of life impacts and family concerns, preparation of personal protection equipment and motherhood, and the need for psychological counseling (P < 0.05). Regarding their primary concerns, 73.2% of the participants worried about the health and safety of childbirth. And 90.6% of respondents anticipated scheduling prenatal appointments to avoid crowds. Pregnant women are susceptible to anxiety/depression during the COVID-19 outbreak, necessitating immediate psychological care and intervention.

KEYWORDS:

• Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)
• pregnant women
• psychological disturbance
• Self-rating Anxiety Scale(SAS)
• Self-rating Depression Scale(SDS)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study has been approved by the ethics committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College. (No. 2020083). The online questionnaires in this study were anonymous. Participants gave informed consent before starting the online survey.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Science and Technology Special Fund of Guangdong Province [No.210716126901097].