Prenatal Care Disruptions and Associations With Maternal Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spread across Canada in March 2020, provinces imposed restrictions. These changes impacted how pregnant individuals received prenatal care and experienced childbirth. The stress caused by these changes may negatively affect the well-being of pregnant individuals w...

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Published in:Frontiers in Global Women's Health Vol. 2; p. 648428
Main Authors: Groulx, Taylor, Bagshawe, Mercedes, Giesbrecht, Gerald, Tomfohr-Madsen, Lianne, Hetherington, Erin, Lebel, Catherine A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media SA 23.04.2021
Frontiers Media S.A
Subjects:
Anxiety
Birth weight
Childbirth & labor
Children & youth
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
depression
Education
Ethnicity
Global Women's Health
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Mental health
pandemic
Pandemics
Parent educational background
Postpartum depression
Pregnancy
Premature birth
Prenatal care
Questionnaires
Regression analysis
Social networks
Statistical analysis
Canada
COVID-19
anxiety
stress
pregnancy
depression
pandemic
prenatal care
ISSN:2673-5059, 2673-5059
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spread across Canada in March 2020, provinces imposed restrictions. These changes impacted how pregnant individuals received prenatal care and experienced childbirth. The stress caused by these changes may negatively affect the well-being of pregnant individuals with impacts on the developing child. This study investigated the impact of the pandemic on prenatal care and birth plans of pregnant individuals in Canada and potential associations with maternal mental health. Data from 4,604 participants was collected from English- and French-speaking Canadians between April 5 and June 1, 2020 as part of the Canada-wide Pregnancy During the COVID-19 Pandemic study. Symptoms of maternal depression, general anxiety, and pregnancy-related anxiety were assessed. Participants also answered questions about disruptions and changes to prenatal care and their birth plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Logistic regression was used to estimate associations between prenatal care disruptions and maternal mental health. Cancellation of prenatal appointments and birth plan changes (specifically changes to childcare during birth and change of support person attending the birth) were significantly associated with greater odds of experiencing clinically elevated depression, anxiety, and/or pregnancy-related anxiety symptoms. These results highlight the need for reliable and accessible prenatal care during the pandemic, such as the integration of mental health screenings and co-ordination of prenatal care providers.
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Edited by: Tabassum Firoz, Yale New Haven Health System, United States
Reviewed by: Folasade Adenike Bello, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; Marjon Alina De Boer, VU University Medical Center, Netherlands
These authors have contributed equally to this work
This article was submitted to Maternal Health, a section of the journal Frontiers in Global Women's Health
ISSN:2673-5059
2673-5059
DOI:10.3389/fgwh.2021.648428