Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

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Public Library of Science, PLoS ONE, 4(18), p. e0272108, 2023

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272108

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Mental health of pregnant women during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in France: Evolution of self-perceived psychological state during the first lockdown, and anxiety frequency two months after the lockdown ended

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Previous pandemics and related lockdowns have had a deleterious impact on pregnant women’s mental health. We studied the impact of the SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19 pandemic and France’s first lockdown on pregnant women’s mental health. A cross-sectional study was conducted in July 2020 using a web-questionnaire completed by 500 adult women who were pregnant during the first lockdown in France (March-May 2020). Questions focused on their self-perceived psychological state and affects they felt before and during the lockdown and anxiety symptomatology (HAD) two months after it ended. A robust variance Poisson regression model was used to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) for anxiety and self-perceived psychological state evolution. One in five respondents (21.1%) reported psychological deterioration during lockdown. Associated determinants were: i) little or no social support (self-perceived) (aRP = 1.77, 95%CI[1.18–2.66]), ii) increased workload (1.65, [1.02–2.66]), and iii) poor/moderate knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 transmission (1.60, [1.09–2.35]). Seven percent of women reporting psychological deterioration had access to professional psychological support during lockdown, while 19% did not despite wanting it. Women reported heightened powerlessness (60.3%), frustration (64%) and fear (59.2%) during lockdown. One in seven respondents (14.2%, 95%CI[10.9–18.2]) had anxiety symptoms. Determinants associated: i) at least one pregnancy-related pathology (aPR = 1.82, 95%CI[1.15–2.88]), ii) overweightness or obesity (1.61, [1.07–2.43]), iii) one child under the age of six years in the household during the lockdown (3.26, [1.24–8.53]), iv) little or no social support (self-perceived) during the lockdown (1.66, [1.07–2.58]), v) friend or relatives diagnosed with Covid-19 or with symptoms of the disease (1.66; [1.06–2.60]), vi) no access to medication for psychological distress (2.86, [1.74–4.71]), and vii) unsuccessfully seeking exchanges with healthcare professionals about their pregnancy during the pandemic (1.66, [1.08–2.55]). Our results can guide prevention and support policies for pregnant women during pandemics, current or future, with or without lockdowns. Preventing perinatal mental health problems is essential to ensure a supportive environment for the child’s development.