COVID-19 and Mental Health: Psychological Impact of the Pandemic on Women during
Pregnancy and Puerperium
Authors: Cerioli M. , Cafaro R. , Giorgetti F. , Colombo A. , Dell’Osso B. M. 
Published: August 2023

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a great toll on world population in the last 2 years
across different groups. Women in pregnancy and in the perinatal period are especially
vulnerable to sources of stress, with repercussions on their own mental health and on the
wellness of the newborn.

Objectives

We aimed at assessing the impact of COVID-19 related stress on women’s psychosocial
status and evaluate the potential development of anxiety or depressive symptoms in our
cohort.

Methods

From March 2020 to November 2020, our hospital was appointed as an HUB for treating
pregnant women positive for Sars-CoV-2 infection. Sociodemographic and clinical data were
collected, and patients were delivered different self-report psychometric tests such as the
GHQ-12, CD-RS, MSPSS, UCLA-8, ISI, IES-6 and DASS-21. We identified two main types of
stressors in our population. Being diagnosed with a pregnancy complication, having an ectopic
pregnancy or a spontaneous abortion were identified as pregnancy-related stressors. On the
other hand, infections or deaths among partners or relatives were defined as covid-related
stressors. Scale scores were compared considering main sociodemographic data and possible
stressors, both pregnancy-related and covid-related, that may affect women’s mental health.
Fisher exact test, Chi square Test and Student’s T test were used when appropriate.

Results

Among 98 women with complete data at baseline, 21,3% suffered from at least mild
anxiety, 21% suffered from at least mild depression, and 41% experienced at least mild stress
according to the DASS-21 scale. Moreover, 26,4% reported PTSD symptoms according to the IES-6
scale. Women who experienced a stressor were more likely to report psychiatric symptoms, even
more so when exposed to a pregnancy-related stressor. Being Caucasian, a personal psychiatric
history or a familial psychiatric history correlated with scoring positive to a higher number
of scales. Regarding DASS-21, high total scores in this scale correlated with being Caucasian
and having had previous deliveries. More specifically, being Caucasian, older age, previous
deliveries and a positive psychiatric history correlated with a higher score in the
depression subscale. A positive psychiatric history and a familial psychiatric history
correlated with higher scores in the anxiety subscale, while being hospitalized at a late
gestational age correlated with lower scores in this section. Scoring above the cut-off of
the DASS stress subscale correlated with a positive psychiatric history, a positive familial
psychiatric history, being Caucasian, and with an older age of the women in the
sample.

Conclusions

Our results underline the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic on women in pregnancy and in
the perinatal period. Tailored interventions should be staged to provide adequate care to
this particularly sensitive population, for the wellbeing of both the mother and the
child.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared