Health Anxiety of Pregnant Women and Its Related Factors During the Pandemic of Corona Virus

Abstract

Background The pandemic of COVID-19 affected many countries as well as Iran. The aim of this study was to evaluate the health anxiety of the Iranian pregnant women in time of the pandemic of the corona virus. Methods In this cross-sectional study 300 pregnant women in different trimesters (n = 100 in each trimester) were recruited. A demographic questionnaire and the Health Anxiety questionnaire were used to collect data. Because of quarantine data were collected through social media groups. The chi-square, ANOVA and multiple linear regression were used to analyze data. Results The total score of anxiety was 22.3 ± 9.5, 24.6 ± 9.3 and 25.4 ± 10.6 in the first, second and third trimester of pregnancy. Totally 9%, 13% and 21% of the women had severe anxiety or scores ≥ 35 in the first, second and third trimester of pregnancy respectively. Pregnant women in the third trimester significantly had more health anxiety score than the first trimester ones. Pregnant women in the third trimester had significantly higher scores of “total health anxiety”, in comparison with that of first trimester (p = 0.045). Conclusion At the time of the pandemic of COVID-19, women in the second and third trimester of pregnancy were more worry about consequences of disease, but the total score of health anxiety was significantly more in the women in the third trimester of pregnancy. Health care providers should pay more attention to the mental health of pregnant women in times of crises such as Corona pandemic.

Pregnancy-related anxiety and its associated factors during COVID-19 pandemic in Iranian pregnant women: a web-based cross-sectional study

“…Findings showed that almost 21% of the participants experienced PRA. This is in line with the findings of a former study in Iran [ 34 ]. In a systematic review a prevalence of anxiety was reported from 3.8 to 17.5% in Asian countries [ 35 ] .A study in China also showed that the prevalence of moderate to severe PRA was 28.8% [ 36 ].…”

“…Another study in Iran revealed that pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy were concerned with COVID-19 disease and its consequences and had higher levels of anxiety. That study also reported that higher levels of anxiety among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic might be due to their limited access to healthcare services, their concerns over the unsafe environment of healthcare settings, and concerns over affliction by the disease [ 34 ]. A study in Pakistan showed that 84% of pregnant women had fear over COVID-19 and the mean score of generalized anxiety disorder among women with fear over COVID-19 was significantly higher [ 41 ].…”

Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pregnant women in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia

“…Such results were expected in light of both the severity of the crisis caused by the pandemic, and the psychological vulnerability of pregnant women in general. They are also in line with the findings of other authors who identified higher levels of stress in pregnant women across the world (Berthelot et al, 2020, Corbett et al, 2020, Durankuş & Aksu, 2020, Kotabagi et al, 2020, Lebel et al, 2020, Masjoudi et al, 2020, Nanjundaswamy et al, 2020, Saadati et al, 2020, Saccone et al, 2020. Our study suggests that the intensity of fear of COVID-19 directly affects the stress response, but that there are also several psychological factors modulating this relationship.…”

“…Several empirical studies and preliminary reports dealing with the psychological consequences of the pandemic on pregnant women have been published (Berthelot et al, 2020, Corbett et al, 2020, Durankuş & Aksu, 2020, Kotabagi et al, 2020, Lebel et al, 2020, Masjoudi et al, 2020, Milne et al, 2020, Nanjundaswamy et al, 2020, Saadati et al, 2020, Saccone et al, 2020, all pointing to the same conclusion that pregnant women experience significantly higher levels of stress and anxiety during the pandemic. The perceived levels of distress and psychiatric symptoms among pregnant women in Quebec were higher than before the pandemic, after controlling for age, gestational age, household income, education, and lifetime psychiatric disorders (Berthelot, 2020).…”

Anxiety among Pregnant Women about Corona Virus Infections during COVID-19 Pandemic at a Tertiary Care Center in Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

“…In a similar study by Najmieh Saadati, women's mean age was 25.8±5.1, 27.2±5.7 and 26.5 ±4.5 in the first, second and third trimester, respectively. 12 Similarly, in the same study, the total score of the anxiety was 22.3±9.5, 24.6±9.3 and 25.4±10.6 in the first, of the second and third trimester and totally 9%, 13% and 21% of the women had severe anxiety or scores >35 in the first, second and third trimester respectively. 12 In another study by Nazil Hossain and et al out of the total, 14.3% of women had score 7 or more and mean age of 26.47±4.8 years were enrolled, mean gestational age of women was 33.04±7.54 weeks.…”