One Year Into the Pandemic: A Systematic Review of Perinatal Mental Health Outcomes During COVID-19

Abstract

Obstetric guidelines have rapidly evolved to incorporate new data and research on the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), with data on perinatal mental health building over the last year. Our aim in the present manuscript is to provide a systematic review of mental health outcomes in pregnant and postpartum women during the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of neonatal and obstetric guidelines addressing symptoms and complications of COVID-19 during pregnancy, mother-to-neonate transmission, Cesarean-section delivery, neonatal prematurity, maternal/neonate mortalities, maternal-neonatal separation, and breastfeeding. We summarize data from 81 mental health studies of pregnant and postpartum women and underscore protective and risk factors identified for perinatal mental health outcomes amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Data reviewed here suggest increased psychological symptoms, especially depressive and anxiety symptoms, in pregnant and postpartum women during COVID-19. Our systematic review integrates the most current obstetric and neonate guidelines, along with perinatal mental health outcomes associated with COVID-19, highlighting the best available data for the care of women and their neonates amidst the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Association Between Serious Psychological Distress and Loneliness During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study with Pregnant Japanese Women

“…[4][5][6] A recently published systematic review of mental health outcomes in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic has also shown that psychological symptoms, such as depressive symptoms and anxiety, are increasing. 7 A stressful life, along with vulnerabilities to stress, causes psychological distress and increases the risk of mental illness, such as depression and anxiety. Given that stress resulting from a severe natural disaster is sudden, while the stress from the COVID-19 pandemic has persisted over time, these types of stress are likely to differ.…”

Loneliness and Depressive Symptoms among Pregnant Black Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…However, only 15 (11.1%) Black women were included in this sample (Perzow et al, 2021). Nineteen of the 81 studies included in a systematic review compared mental health outcomes in pregnant or postpartum women before and during the pandemic (Iyengar et al, 2021). Eleven of these 19 studies reported elevated levels of clinically significant mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety in pregnant or postpartum women during the COVID-19 pandemic (Iyengar et al, 2021).…”

“…Nineteen of the 81 studies included in a systematic review compared mental health outcomes in pregnant or postpartum women before and during the pandemic (Iyengar et al, 2021). Eleven of these 19 studies reported elevated levels of clinically significant mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety in pregnant or postpartum women during the COVID-19 pandemic (Iyengar et al, 2021). However, only 5 of the 19 studies were conducted in the United States, and only two of these five studies were conducted with pregnant women (Iyengar et al, 2021).…”

“…In a study of 2,740 pregnant women from 47 states of the United States conducted via a survey distributed on Facebook, Twitter, and pregnancy-related peer and professional communities in April 2020 (88% White; no data on percentage of Black women), the women reported high levels of pregnancy-related anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic (Moyer et al, 2020). In a recent systematic review of 81 studies (N = 132,917 women), 18 of the studies reported on the prevalence of mental health outcomes in pregnant or postpartum women during the pandemic (Iyengar et al, 2021). Sixteen of these 18 studies reported moderate to severe symptoms of depression and/or anxiety in pregnant or postpartum women during the pandemic, with prevalence rates ranging between 20 and 64% (Iyengar et al, 2021).…”

“…In a recent systematic review of 81 studies (N = 132,917 women), 18 of the studies reported on the prevalence of mental health outcomes in pregnant or postpartum women during the pandemic (Iyengar et al, 2021). Sixteen of these 18 studies reported moderate to severe symptoms of depression and/or anxiety in pregnant or postpartum women during the pandemic, with prevalence rates ranging between 20 and 64% (Iyengar et al, 2021). However, only four of the 18 studies were conducted in the United States, and the majority included small percentages of Black women in their sample.…”