Mental Health in Pregnant Women and COVID-19: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Depression and anxiety are psychological problems with high prevalence in the perinatal period. Moreover, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the vulnerability of pregnant women has been even greater, making it even more necessary to study the main associated risk factors. The present study aims to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on mental
health in a sample of pregnant women by comparing women who were pregnant before the pandemic and those who experienced pregnancy during the pandemic, as well as evaluate the relationship with the main risk and protective factors, one of them being social support. With this objective, a battery of psychological assessment instruments was administered to women in the general population who were in the third trimester of pregnancy (N=59), with which the following factors were evaluated: sociodemographic variables, stressful situations experienced in the last year and previous history of depression, perinatal depression (EPDS), anxiety (STAI) and social support (MOS). The results partially support the hypotheses proposed, since, although no significant differences were found between the groups evaluated before and after the pandemic, anxiety and depression scores showed negative correlations with social support. These results have clinical implications in that social support, especially from the partner, may be a determinant variable in effective early detection and prevention programs.