Psychosocial predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among pregnant women: a cross-sectional study in Greece (preprint)

ABSTRACT

Background: Unvaccinated pregnant women with symptomatic COVID-19 have been found to have a higher risk of iatrogenic preterm births, intensive care unit admission, and invasive ventilation. Objective: To estimate the vaccination rate of pregnant women against the COVID-19 and to evaluate psychosocial factors associated with vaccine uptake among them. Methods: We conducted an anonymous cross-sectional study with a convenience sample in Greece from December 2021 to March 2022. We measured socio-demographic data of pregnant women, COVID-19-related vaccination status, worry about the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, trust in COVID-19 vaccines, and COVID-19-related stress. Results: The study population included 812 pregnant women with a mean age of 31.6 years. Among the pregnant women, 58.6% had received a COVID-19 vaccine. The most important reasons that pregnant women were not vaccinated were doubts about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines (31.4%), fear that COVID-19 vaccines could be harmful to fetus (29.4%), and fear of adverse side effects of COVID-19 vaccines (29.4%). Increased danger and contamination fears, increased fears about economic consequences, and higher levels of trust in COVID-19 vaccines were related with COVID-19 vaccine uptake. On the other hand, increased compulsive checking and reassurance seeking and increased worry about the adverse side effects of COVID-19 vaccines reduced the likelihood of pregnant women being vaccinated against the COVID-19. Conclusions: An understanding of the psychosocial factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake in pregnant women is paramount to persuade women to get vaccinated against the COVID-19. There is a need for targeted educational campaigns to increase knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines and reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in pregnancy.