Anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Pregnant Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic's Delay Phase.

BACKGROUND

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emerged in Wuhan, China and has spread all over the world and affected global mental health. Pregnant women may be particularly vulnerable and experience high levels of distress during an infectious disease outbreak. The aim of this study was to determine anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study surveyed a total of 283 pregnant women within the period of May 11 to May 28,2020. During their regular antenatal visit, pregnant women were invited to participate in the study. The self-created personal information form was used to assess the main characteristics of the participants. Anxiety and PTSD symptoms of the pregnant women were measured by the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R), respectively.

RESULTS

The mean age of the pregnant women was 29.20±5.55 years. Regarding gestational age, 72 (25.4%), 86 (30.4) and 125 (44.2) were in the first, second and third trimesters, respectively. The mean gestational age was 23.82±11.05 weeks. The mean STAI-S and STAI-T scores were 39.52±10.56 within the cut-off value (39-40) of the instrument and 42.74±8.33, respectively. Furthermore, the mean total IES-R score was 36.60±15.65 within the cut-off value (24) of the instrument. Multiple regression analysis revealed that pregnancy complication (p=0.01) and employment status of husband (p=0.04) were the best predictors of state anxiety. Additionally, the presence of COVID-19-related symptoms (p=0.01) and educational level (p=0.01) were found to predict PTSD symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Pregnant women would be likely to experience high levels of anxiety and PTSD symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic's delay phase. The results should sensitize the medical team to increased anxiety and PTDS symptoms of the pregnant women in order to prevent negative outcomes for women and their fetuses.