Unplanned Pregnancy and Depressive Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Gilberto Assunção Costa Júnior, Adriana Sousa Rêgo, Andressa Pestana Brito, Poliana da Silva Rêgo Furtado, Thayla Thais Jatahy Pereira, Lucas Frota Beckman, Yuri Alfredo Araujo Mendonça, Cristina Nitz da Cruz, Magali Kelli Nitz, Márcia Rodrigues Veras Batista, Márcio Anderson Sousa Nunes, Janaina Maiana Abreu Barbosa, José Márcio Soares Leite, Ângela Falcai, Marcos Antônio Barbosa Pacheco, Cristina Maria Douat Loyola, Maria Raimunda Chagas Silva, Wellyson da Cunha Araújo Firmo and Flor de Maria Araujo Mendonça Silva ()
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Gilberto Assunção Costa Júnior: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Adriana Sousa Rêgo: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Andressa Pestana Brito: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Poliana da Silva Rêgo Furtado: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Thayla Thais Jatahy Pereira: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Lucas Frota Beckman: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Yuri Alfredo Araujo Mendonça: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Cristina Nitz da Cruz: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Magali Kelli Nitz: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Márcia Rodrigues Veras Batista: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Márcio Anderson Sousa Nunes: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Janaina Maiana Abreu Barbosa: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
José Márcio Soares Leite: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Ângela Falcai: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Marcos Antônio Barbosa Pacheco: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Cristina Maria Douat Loyola: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Maria Raimunda Chagas Silva: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Wellyson da Cunha Araújo Firmo: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil
Flor de Maria Araujo Mendonça Silva: Postgraduate Program in Management of Health Programs and Services, Ceuma University, Campus Renascença, São Luís 65075-120, Maranhão, Brazil

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: This is a cross-sectional study conducted with pregnant women who underwent prenatal care at basic health units in São Luís City, Maranhão State, Brazil. The authors used a semistructured questionnaire to assess the socioeconomic, demographic, and clinical characteristics of pregnant women as well as the Edinburgh Scale to investigate depressive symptoms. In order to assess the association between the explanatory variable and the outcome variable, Poisson logistic regression was performed with statistical significance at p < 0.05. A total of 205 women were interviewed, most aged between 18 and 29 years (66.83%). Of this total, 74.63% had not planned their pregnancy and 26.67% had depressive symptoms. The variables unplanned pregnancy (PR = 1.41; CI = 0.99–2.00; p = 0.05) and not undergoing psychological counseling (PR = 1.42; CI = 0.51–0.83; p ≤ 0.01) correlated with depressive symptoms during pregnancy. It is thus possible to link the variables unplanned pregnancy ( p > 0.05) and not undergoing psychological counseling ( p = 0.001) to depression. Therefore, it is important to monitor the mental health of pregnant women, especially in situations of vulnerability.

Keywords: COVID-19; depression; mental health; pregnant women; public health (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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