The Impacts of Prenatal Mental Health Issues on Birth Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review

Tianqi Zhao, Hanxiao Zuo, Sandra M. Campbell, Gian S. Jhangri, Keith S. Dobson, Jessica Yijia Li, Shahirose S. Premji, Fangbiao Tao, Beibei Zhu and Shelby S. Yamamoto
Additional contact information
Tianqi Zhao: School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Hanxiao Zuo: School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Sandra M. Campbell: School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Gian S. Jhangri: School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Keith S. Dobson: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Jessica Yijia Li: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Shahirose S. Premji: School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
Fangbiao Tao: Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230038, China
Beibei Zhu: Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230038, China
Shelby S. Yamamoto: School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-10

Abstract: Background: The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to exacerbate mental health problems during the prenatal period and increase the risk of adverse birth outcomes. This review assessed the published literature related to the impacts of prenatal mental health issues on birth outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This scoping review was conducted using PROSPERO, Cochrane Library, OVID Medline, Ovid EMBASE, OVID PsycInfo, EBSCO CINAHL, and SCOPUS. The search was conducted using controlled vocabulary and keywords representing the concepts “COVID19”, “mental health” and “birth outcomes”. The main inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed published articles from late 2019 to the end of July 2021. Results and Discussion: After removing duplicates, 642 articles were identified, of which two full texts were included for analysis. Both articles highlighted that pregnant women have experienced increasing prenatal mental health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic and, further, increased the risk of developing adverse births. This scoping review highlighted that there is a lack of research on the impact of prenatal mental health issues on birth outcomes during the pandemic. Conclusion: Given the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and the burdens of prenatal mental health issues and adverse birth outcomes, there is an urgent need to conduct further research.

Keywords: prenatal mental health; depression; anxiety; birth outcomes; preterm birth; low birth weight; small for gestational age; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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