Women's Mental Health During Pregnancy under the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic: A Review of Foreign Studies

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Abstract

The article is the review of research studies published in 2020 on anxiety, depression and stress of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show that 35% to 69,6% pregnant women and newly mothers experience moderate-to-strong levels of anxiety, 18,2%-36,4% demonstrate clinically significant symptoms of depression, 10,3-16,7% have symptoms of PTSD. These numbers are twice higher than the prevalence of anxiety, depression and stress presented in pre-pandemic scientific literature. The most significant factor influencing the high levels of anxiety, stress and depression during the pandemic is the presence of these disorders before pregnancy. Other important factors are younger age, lower household income, lack of social support, and bigger family. Data on differences on anxiety, depression and stress between women in different trimesters and postpartum are contradictory.

General Information

Keywords: COVID-19, pandemic, mental health, emotional states, pregnancy, anxiety, depression, stress, PTSD.

Journal rubric: Developmental Psychology

Article type: review article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/jmfp.2021100107

Funding. The reported study was funded by Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR), project number 20-04-60386.

For citation: Anikina V.O., Savenysheva S., Blokh M.E. Women's Mental Health During Pregnancy under the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic: A Review of Foreign Studies [Elektronnyi resurs]. Sovremennaia zarubezhnaia psikhologiia = Journal of Modern Foreign Psychology, 2021. Vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 70–78. DOI: 10.17759/jmfp.2021100107. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

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Information About the Authors

Varvara O. Anikina, PhD in Psychology, associate professor at the chair of early intervention and mental health, department of psychology, Saint-Petersburg State University, St.Petersburg, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0028-6806, e-mail: v.anikina@spbu.ru

Svetlana S. Savenysheva, PhD in Psychology, Professor in Department of Psychology of Development at Psychology Faculty, Saint-Petersburg State University, St.Petersburg, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7529-1493, e-mail: owlsveta@mail.ru

Mariia E. Blokh, PhD in Medicine, Associate professor, Division of Child and Parent Mental Health and Early Intervention, Saint Petersburg State University, psychotherapist, Dr D.O. Ott Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproduction, St.Petersburg, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8609-6936, e-mail: blohme@list.ru

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