Fear of COVID-19, mental health, and pregnancy outcomes in the pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic study: Fear of COVID-19 and pregnancy outcomes.
J Affect Disord
; 299: 483-491, 2022 02 15.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1587424
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Sustained fear during pregnancy has the potential to increase psychological distress and obstetric risk. This study aimed to (1) identify factors and characteristics associated with fear of COVID-19, (2) investigate the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and maternal anxiety and depression, and (3) determine the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and pregnancy outcomes.METHODS:
9251 pregnant Canadians were recruited between April - December 2020. Participants self-reported (scale of 0-100) the degree of threat they perceived from the SARS-CoV-2 virus in relation to themselves and their unborn baby.RESULTS:
Mean fear scores indicated moderate to elevated concern. In multivariable linear regression, fear of COVID-19 was associated with food insecurity, ethnicity, geographic location, history of anxiety prior to pregnancy, having a chronic health condition, pre-pregnancy BMI, parity, and stage of pregnancy at study enrollment. Higher COVID-19 fear was associated with increased odds of depression, adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.75, p < 0.001, 95% CI 1.66-1.85, and anxiety, aOR=2.04, p < 0.001, 95% CI 1.94-2.15). Furthermore, fear of COVID-19 was associated with a 192-gram reduction in infant birthweight, and a 6.1-day reduction in gestational age at birth.LIMITATIONS:
The sample has higher education compared to the Canadian population and cannot test causal effects.CONCLUSION:
This study suggests that sociodemographic, health, and obstetric factors may contribute to increased fear of COVID-19 and associated adverse psychological and pregnancy outcomes.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
J Affect Disord
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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