Psychological Investigation on Pregnant Women during the Outbreak of COVID-19

Abstract

<title>Abstract</title> <bold>Background </bold>COVID-19(Corona Virus Disease 2019) outbreaks around the world and is highly infectious, which may cause people prone to anxiety and depression. As a particular group, pregnant women need more attention. The aim of study is to investigate the mental health status of pregnant women during the outbreak of COVID-19, and analyze factors affecting the mental health status of pregnant women.<bold>Methods </bold>Using a self-designed questionnaire, self-rated anxiety scale(SAS), self-rated depression scale (SDS), we conducted a web-based survey on 1160 pregnant women during the outbreak of COVID-19.<bold>Results </bold>Compared with general adults in some regions of China, the scores of SAS and SDS were both significantly higher in pregnant women during the outbreak of COVID-19 (P &lt; 0.05). The results of multivariate regression analysis unveiled that age, levels of education, and duration of pregnancy were all factors influencing pregnant women’s psychological status. In terms of psychological problems, compared with pregnant women aged &lt; 30 years old, the risk of psychological problems in pregnant women aged ≥ 30 years old was 0.646 times (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.486–0.858). Moreover, compared with women with a level of high school or below, the risk of psychological abnormalities in women with a level of junior college degree or above was 0.551 times (95% CI: 0.416–0.731). Compared with women during the first trimester, the risk of psychological problems in women during the mid-trimester was 0.543 times (95% CI: 0.398–0.739). In addition, compared with women during the mid-trimester, the risk of psychological problems in women during the last trimester was 0.636 times (95% CI: 0.466–0.867).<bold>Conclusions </bold>During the outbreak of COVID-19, pregnant women are prone to anxiety or depression, highlighting the necessity of further attention on those subjects. It is of great significance to provide on-time psychological intervention and psychological counseling for pregnant women with poor mental health.