Pregnant women's psychological state and influence factors: anxiety, and depression during COVID-19 outbreak.

OBJECTIVES: The outbreak of COVID-19 affects both physical and mental health of pregnant women. This study focuses on their psychological status, and analyzes the main factors affecting their emotions of pregnant women so as to provide guidance for psychological counseling and social intervention during epidemics. METHODS: Multiple researchers distributed a questionnaire online via the Internet. Pregnant women volunteered, and the questionnaire was automatically collected in the background. RESULTS: The 298 valid questionnaires recovered showed that 82 cases of pregnant women were in states of anxiety, accounting for 27.51%, of which 78.05% were mild (82 cases), 19.51% were moderate (16 cases), and 2.44% were severe (2 cases). Moreover, 31.21% of pregnant women were in states of depression (93 cases), of which 52.69% were mild (49 cases), 40.86% were moderate (38 cases), and 6.45% were severe (6 cases). The risk factors for states of anxiety or depression were fear of fetal malformation or genetic disease, history of adverse pregnancy, can't do routine prenatal examination, and insufficient support and care from husbands and families. Besides, 16 cases had sought psychological help during the epidemic, among whom 62.50% (10 cases) experienced anxiety, 68.75% (11 cases) had depression. CONCLUSIONS: During the outbreak of COVID-19, obstetricians may take use of the Internet, based on the advantages in epidemic prevention, controlling health education, and popularizing science. In addition, husbands and family members should provide greater care for pregnant women, to protect their mental health during public health incidents.

Midwifery and Nursing Strategies to protect against COVID-19 During the Third Trimester of Pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: The rapid pace of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic (COVID-19) presents significant challenges to midwives and nurses. This study aimed to explore midwifery and nursing interventions to limit the transmission of COVID-19 among women in their third trimester of pregnancy, to reduce the incidence of nosocomial infection and promote safety of care for women and their infants. METHOD: We completed a retrospective review of medical records from 35 women in their third trimester of pregnancy with SARS-CoV-2, admitted to one hospital in Wuhan, China in January and February 2020. We investigated the clinical characteristics of the COVID-19 infection in pregnancy, and the individualized midwifery and nursing care offered, including environmental protection, prevention of nosocomial infection, maternal observations, monitoring of signs and symptoms of COVID-19, and psychological care. RESULT: Thirty-one women had a caesarean section, and four had vaginal births. Retrospective analysis of midwifery and nursing strategies implemented to care for these women showed no maternal complications or nosocomial infections. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The care strategies we implemented could prevent complications and nosocomial infection in the third trimester of pregnancy, thus ensuring the safety of women and their infants. Further research needs to determine treatment priorities for women infected with COVID-19 during pregnancy and the postnatal period.