Experiencing Pregnancy during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Poland: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Mediating Effect of Resiliency on Prenatal Depression Symptoms
Abstract:The COVID-19 pandemic in Poland brought uncertainty, not only to the general population but also to women preparing for childbirth, which increased the risk of mental health illnesses during this special period of life. Resilience, which refers to positive adaptation or the ability to maintain good mental health, can be a protective factor against the development of psychiatric problems such as depressive symptoms. This study aimed to assess the protective role of resilience in the relationship of such risk fa… Show more
“…The loss of the feeling 'we are all in this together' that prevailed during the group sessions, may have contributed to lower perceived social support [36]. This supports the results of other studies, confirming the strong need to implement social interventions among new parents [23,33,36].…”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 83%
“…This study enrolled during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, where professional support became more critical but at the same time less accessible [22]. Building resilience is an important element of mental health promotion interventions for pregnant women, especially in such crises as the COVID-19 pandemic [23,24]. By integrating a resilience-oriented approach into prevention strategies, we expect to contribute to the wellbeing of pregnant women and their families.…”
A 28-week supported online intervention for pregnant women, informed by the Behavior Change Wheel Framework, was developed. The intervention included exercises, group sessions and a peer support platform. The aim of this study was to examine the potential effectiveness of the intervention in enhancing resilience and promoting maternal mental health. Using a quasi-experimental design, assessments were conducted at baseline, postintervention and follow-ups at six and 12 months after childbirth. Resilience, resilience attributes, and maternal mental health were measured using standardised scales. The intervention group received the intervention (N = 70), while the control group (N = 32) received care-as-usual. A repeated-measures ANOVA was used to determine within- and between-group changes. Results showed no significant differences between groups regarding resilience and maternal mental health. However, the intervention group demonstrated stable resilience (p = 0.320) compared to a significant decrease in the control group (p = 0.004). Within the intervention group, perceived social support remained stable during the intervention, but decreased significantly at the first follow-up (p = 0.012). All participants faced additional stress from the COVID-19 pandemic alongside the challenges of parenthood. This study contributes to maternal mental health literature with an innovative, supported online intervention. The intervention consists of different deployable components, designed to be offered online, and the current pilot data are promising. Further research is warranted to explore its full potential in clinical practice.
“…The loss of the feeling 'we are all in this together' that prevailed during the group sessions, may have contributed to lower perceived social support [36]. This supports the results of other studies, confirming the strong need to implement social interventions among new parents [23,33,36].…”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 83%
“…This study enrolled during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, where professional support became more critical but at the same time less accessible [22]. Building resilience is an important element of mental health promotion interventions for pregnant women, especially in such crises as the COVID-19 pandemic [23,24]. By integrating a resilience-oriented approach into prevention strategies, we expect to contribute to the wellbeing of pregnant women and their families.…”
A 28-week supported online intervention for pregnant women, informed by the Behavior Change Wheel Framework, was developed. The intervention included exercises, group sessions and a peer support platform. The aim of this study was to examine the potential effectiveness of the intervention in enhancing resilience and promoting maternal mental health. Using a quasi-experimental design, assessments were conducted at baseline, postintervention and follow-ups at six and 12 months after childbirth. Resilience, resilience attributes, and maternal mental health were measured using standardised scales. The intervention group received the intervention (N = 70), while the control group (N = 32) received care-as-usual. A repeated-measures ANOVA was used to determine within- and between-group changes. Results showed no significant differences between groups regarding resilience and maternal mental health. However, the intervention group demonstrated stable resilience (p = 0.320) compared to a significant decrease in the control group (p = 0.004). Within the intervention group, perceived social support remained stable during the intervention, but decreased significantly at the first follow-up (p = 0.012). All participants faced additional stress from the COVID-19 pandemic alongside the challenges of parenthood. This study contributes to maternal mental health literature with an innovative, supported online intervention. The intervention consists of different deployable components, designed to be offered online, and the current pilot data are promising. Further research is warranted to explore its full potential in clinical practice.
“…Therefore, we could not verify whether resilience has a mediating effect between COVID-19-related anxiety and depression and labour anxiety. Our findings are in contrast to Polish studies conducted during the pandemic that have investigated the mediating effect of resilience between pandemic stress and depressive symptoms [49]. Indeed, we used a different approach to measure stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which may be one of the reasons for this discrepancy.…”
Section: Discussioncontrasting
confidence: 77%
“…In our research, approximately one-third of the women in the study population reported depressive symptoms. When making comparisons with the Polish population, although these rates are higher than before the pandemic [48], our study identified lower rates of depression than Studniczek and Kossakowska at an earlier stage of the pandemic [49]. This disparity may be due to two reasons.…”
Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic, with its multidimensional consequences, is the most serious threat of the 21st century affecting the mental health of women in the perinatal period around the world. Resilience, which assumes the flexible use of an individual’s resources in facing adversity, is an important, protective factor influencing mental well-being. The presented study aimed to determine to what extent psychological resilience, mitigates the relationship between adverse consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and symptoms of depression and anxiety in women in the perinatal period. Methods: We recruited pregnant women from 17 February to 13 October 2021, using social media, the parenting portal, and the snowball method. To assess mental well-being, we used: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-2), Self-report Labour Anxiety Questionnaire—LAQ and the self-developed COVID-19 Pandemic Anxiety Questionnaire (CRAQ). Resilience was measured usingthe Resilience Measure Questionnaire (KOP26). Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA), an independent t-test, and a Pearson correlation analysis were performed. Results: Low resilience was significantly associated with depressive symptoms (r = −0.46; p < 0.05) and anxiety related to childbirth (r = −0.21; p < 0.05). No associations were found for resilience and pandemic-related stress. Very high and high perinatal anxiety along with the lowest level of resilience clustered with EPDS and BDI-2 scores indicating depression. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence that lower levels of resilience during pregnancy may be a significant predictor of increased severity of depressive symptoms and higher levels of anxiety related to childbirth among the perinatal population.
“…10 Consistent with findings in other contexts, resilience has been demonstrated to buffer against the negative psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 4,11,12 However, given the recent increase in mental health disorders across various populations during and following the pandemic, it has been posited that this might reflect a population-level deterioration in resilience. 13 This is contrary to the general supposition that resilience is an intrinsic, trait-level characteristic that is stable without targeted intervention.…”
Objective Resilience is associated with mental and somatic health benefits. Given the social, physical, and mental health toll of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we examined whether the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with population-level changes in resilience among pregnant people.
Study Design Secondary analysis of a prospective cohort of nulliparous pregnant people <20 weeks' gestation from a single hospital. Participants completed baseline assessments of resilience characteristics, including dispositional optimism (DO), mindfulness, and proactive coping. For this analysis, participants recruited before the COVID-19 pandemic were compared with those recruited during the pandemic. The primary outcome was DO, assessed as a continuous score on the validated Revised Life Orientation Test. Secondary outcomes included continuous scores on mindfulness and proactive coping assessments. Bivariable analyses were completed using chi-squared and Mann–Whitney U tests. Multivariable linear regression compared resilience scores by recruitment time frame, controlling for confounders selected a priori: maternal age, education, and marital status.
Results Of the 300 participants, 152 (50.7%) were recruited prior to the pandemic. Demographic and pregnancy characteristics differed between groups: the during-pandemic group was older, had higher levels of education, and were more likely to be married/partnered. There were no significant differences in any of the resilience characteristics before versus during the pandemic in bivariable or multivariable analyses.
Conclusion In this cohort, there were no differences in early pregnancy resilience characteristics before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic. This affirms that on a population level, resilience is a stable metric, even in the setting of a global pandemic.
Key Points
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