COVID-19 affects psychological symptoms of pregnant women indirectly by increasing their maternal concerns.

BACKGROUND

Pregnant women themselves are at higher risk for psychological symptoms. The impact of ongoing COVID-19 may increase the risk. However, it is uncertain whether COVID-19 affects pregnant women's psychological symptoms directly or indirectly being mediated.

METHODS

This survey was conducted in four obstetrics and gynecology hospitals in Beijing from February 28, 2020, to April 26, 2020. Pregnant women who visited the antenatal-care clinic were mobilized to finish the online questionnaires, including the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Connor-Davidson resilience scale, and Insomnia Severity Index.

RESULTS

A total of 828 pregnant women were included in the analysis. The estimated self-reported rates of anxiety, depression, insomnia, and any of the three were 12.2 %, 24.3 %, 13.3 %, and 33.1 %, respectively. Mediating effect analysis showed that pregnant women's response to COVID-19 was not directly associated with psychological symptoms but indirectly through the mediating effect of maternal concerns, which accounted for 32.35 % of the total effect. Stratified analysis by psychological resilience showed that women's attitude toward COVID-19 (OR, 2.68, 95 % CI: 1.16-6.18) was associated with a higher risk of psychological symptoms in those with poor psychological resilience.

LIMITATIONS: The study was a non-probability sampling survey, and the causal relationship between maternal concerns and psychological symptoms could not be determined due to the study's design.

CONCLUSIONS

Under public health emergencies such as COVID-19, routine antenatal care should still be prioritized, and concerns related to childbirth-related caused by such emergencies should also be addressed, especially for those with weak psychological resilience.