Protective Behavior and Psychological Health among Pregnant Women during the Covid-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

Pregnancy is a time of changes in a woman's life because it includes not only psychological but also physiological and anatomical changes. The woman needs all the support and understanding she can get to be able to deliver to a healthy baby. The presence of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions in many aspects of life in a pregnant woman and her family thereby causing additional mental burden that may cause psychological as well as physiological alterations in a supposedly normal life changes. The aim of the study is to find out the protective behavior, coping mechanisms and psychological status of the pregnant women in order to come up with interventional activities to help these women cope with their current situation and with the pandemic. The respondents of the study were the 35 pregnant women who consented to participate in the study. The study made use of a survey questionnaire to be able to determine and describe the protective behaviors, their coping mechanisms and the psychological status. Results showed that the respondents practice protective behaviors, have good coping mechanisms and are of normal psychological status. There is no association between the variables to the profile of the respondents except for educational attainment which showed positive perfect correlations with protective behaviors and coping mechanisms against depression, anxiety and stress. The number of respondents limits the findings of the study so it was recommended that similar studies be done in a larger population as well as in significant others of the pregnant women be included as respondent. It is also recommended that a longitudinal study be conducted for more extensive findings.