The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pregnant women

This work was supported by the Frontier Project "ACTS229UGR18" of the Ministry of Economy, Knowledge, Business and University of the Junta de Andalucia, cosupported by funds/European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) - a way to build Europe. Beside, Mr. Jose Antonio PuertasGonzalez has been awarded with an individual research grant (Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, FPU program, reference number 18/00617) .The aim was to examine the psychological effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on pregnant women, as well as the factors influencing these effects. The study design was cross-sectional and the participants were 200 pregnant women. The first group called the Pandemic Group (PG) included 100 women who were evaluated with psychological assessment instruments during the COVID-19 pandemic. The second group titled Pre-Pandemic Group (PPG) consisted of 100 women who were evaluated prior to the pandemic. Perceived stress, prenatal concerns and psychopathological symptoms were evaluated and compared. Pandemic Group scored significantly higher than Pre-Pandemic Group in the depression dimension of the SCL-90, in the phobic anxiety dimension, and in the Perceived Stress Scale. In addition, insomnia, along with having recently suffered the loss of a loved one explained 25% of the score variance in the depression dimension of the SCL-90. Insomnia also explained 13% of the variance of the results found in the Perceived Stress Scale. The fear of contagion by COVID-19 increased the scores obtained in the phobic anxiety dimension, explaining 11% of the variance. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic could produce an increase in psychopathological symptomatology and stress, which can lead to negatively affecting pregnant women's mental health.Ministry of Economy, Knowledge, Business ACTS229UGR18Junta de AndaluciaEuropean CommissionSpanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, FPU program 18/0061