The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pregnant Women with Perinatal Anxiety Symptoms in Pakistan: A Qualitative Study

Nida Rauf, Shaffaq Zulfiqar, Sidra Mumtaz, Hadia Maryam, Rabail Shoukat, Abid Malik, Armaan A. Rowther, Atif Rahman, Pamela J. Surkan and Najia Atif
Additional contact information
Nida Rauf: Human Development Research Foundation, House No 06, Street No 55, F-7/4, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Shaffaq Zulfiqar: Human Development Research Foundation, House No 06, Street No 55, F-7/4, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Sidra Mumtaz: Human Development Research Foundation, House No 06, Street No 55, F-7/4, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Hadia Maryam: Human Development Research Foundation, House No 06, Street No 55, F-7/4, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Rabail Shoukat: Human Development Research Foundation, House No 06, Street No 55, F-7/4, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Abid Malik: Human Development Research Foundation, House No 06, Street No 55, F-7/4, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Armaan A. Rowther: Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 615 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Atif Rahman: Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L12 2AP, UK
Pamela J. Surkan: Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 615 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Najia Atif: Human Development Research Foundation, House No 06, Street No 55, F-7/4, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-14

Abstract: The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on people with existing mental health conditions is likely to be high. We explored the consequences of the pandemic on women of lower socioeconomic status with prenatal anxiety symptoms living in urban Rawalpindi, Pakistan. This qualitative study was embedded within an ongoing randomized controlled trial of psychosocial intervention for prenatal anxiety at a public hospital in Rawalpindi. The participants were women with symptoms of anxiety who had received or were receiving the intervention. In total, 27 interviews were conducted; 13 women were in their third trimester of pregnancy, and 14 were in their postnatal period. The data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using framework analysis. Key findings were that during the pandemic, women experienced increased perinatal anxiety that was linked to greater financial problems, uncertainties over availability of appropriate obstetric healthcare, and a lack of trust in health professionals. Women experienced increased levels of fear for their own and their baby’s health and safety, especially due to fear of infection. COVID-19 appears to have contributed to symptoms of anxiety in women already predisposed to anxiety in the prenatal period. Efforts to address women’s heightened anxiety due to the pandemic are likely to have public health benefits.

Keywords: COVID-19; pregnant women; anxiety symptoms; mental health; low- and middle-income countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/16/8237/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/16/8237/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:16:p:8237-:d:607857

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().