Perinatal Anxiety among Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Cross-Sectional Study

Grażyna Iwanowicz-Palus, Mariola Mróz, Aleksandra Korda, Agnieszka Marcewicz and Agnieszka Palus
Additional contact information
Grażyna Iwanowicz-Palus: Chair of Obstetrics Development, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, 4-6 Staszica Str., 20-081 Lublin, Poland
Mariola Mróz: Chair of Obstetrics Development, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, 4-6 Staszica Str., 20-081 Lublin, Poland
Aleksandra Korda: Students’ Scientific Circle at the Chair of Obstetrics Development, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, 20-081 Lublin, Poland
Agnieszka Marcewicz: Chair of Obstetrics Development, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, 4-6 Staszica Str., 20-081 Lublin, Poland
Agnieszka Palus: Medical Doctor in Medical Center in NowyDwór Mazowiecki, Faculty of Medicine, Warsaw Medical University, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way prenatal education and obstetric care are provided. Pandemic-related anxiety, restrictions, limitations in perinatal care, and the inability to be accompanied by a loved one can have negative psychological consequences for future parents and their child. The aim of this study was to analyze the determinants and assess the anxiety of pregnant women in individual trimesters, as well as to learn about the sources of support and medical personnel proceeding methods. Materials and Methods: This research was conducted as a diagnostic survey, using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Childbirth Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ), and a standardized interview questionnaire, on 534 pregnant women in Poland. Resultsand Conclusions: The pregnant women, regardless of the trimester of pregnancy, are characterized by: increased anxiety level influenced by the current epidemiological situation, psychophysical condition, previous maternal experiences, participation in classes preparing for childbirth, organization of perinatal care, their relationship with a partner, and the presence of a loved one during childbirth. A negative correlation was shown between the level of childbirth anxiety and maternal experience, as well as the support of a doctor and midwife.

Keywords: childbirth anxiety; anxiety in pregnancy; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; pandemic; support; perinatal care; pregnancy; childbirth school (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/5/2603/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/5/2603/ (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:19:y:2022:i:5:p:2603-:d:757163

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 ().