Abstract
Objectives
The outbreak of COVID-19 affects both physical and mental health of pregnant women. This study focuses on their psychological status, and analyzes the main factors affecting their emotions of pregnant women so as to provide guidance for psychological counseling and social intervention during epidemics.
Methods
Multiple researchers distributed a questionnaire online via the Internet. Pregnant women volunteered, and the questionnaire was automatically collected in the background.
Results
The 298 valid questionnaires recovered showed that 82 cases of pregnant women were in states of anxiety, accounting for 27.51%, of which 78.05% were mild (82 cases), 19.51% were moderate (16 cases), and 2.44% were severe (2 cases). Moreover, 31.21% of pregnant women were in states of depression (93 cases), of which 52.69% were mild (49 cases), 40.86% were moderate (38 cases), and 6.45% were severe (6 cases). The risk factors for states of anxiety or depression were fear of fetal malformation or genetic disease, history of adverse pregnancy, can’t do routine prenatal examination, and insufficient support and care from husbands and families. Besides, 16 cases had sought psychological help during the epidemic, among whom 62.50% (10 cases) experienced anxiety, 68.75% (11 cases) had depression.
Conclusions
During the outbreak of COVID-19, obstetricians may take use of the Internet, based on the advantages in epidemic prevention, controlling health education, and popularizing science. In addition, husbands and family members should provide greater care for pregnant women, to protect their mental health during public health incidents.
Funding source: The New Pneumonia Emergency Science and Technology Project of Science and Technology Department of Hubei Province
Award Identifier / Grant number: 2020FCA011
Funding source: The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China
Award Identifier / Grant number: 2042017kf0083
Funding source: The COVID-19 Emergency Science and Technology Project in Wuhan
Award Identifier / Grant number: 2020020201010011
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Research funding: This work was supported by the New Pneumonia Emergency Science and Technology Project of Science and Technology Department of Hubei Province (Grant Number 2020FCA011), the COVID-19 Emergency Science and Technology Project in Wuhan (Grant Number 2020020201010011), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (Grant Number 2042017kf0083). The funding organization(s) played no role in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation, of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.
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Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
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Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
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Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.
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Ethical approval: The study was reviewed and approved by the Medical Ethical Committee of Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University (Approval Number 2020034).
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Supplementary Material
The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2020-0541).
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