Mental health status of pregnant women during COVID-19 in healthcare centers of Iran: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted every single aspect of life. In addition to being a public health emergency, the COVID-19 outbreak impacted the mental health of individuals, especially pregnant women. This study aimed to examine the mental health status of pregnant women and also the effect of sociodemographic factors on their mental health status during COVID-19 in healthcare centers of Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional, analytical-descriptive study was conducted among pregnant women referring to healthcare centers in Shoushtar, Iran, in 2021. Multistage cluster sampling was used to select participants. Data were collected using the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28). Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine the association between quantitative variables. A generalized linear model (GLM) was applied to estimate the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable (mental health). RESULTS: A total of 197 participants with a mean ± SD age of 27.85 ± 6.37 years took part in this study. The total mean score of mental health was estimated at 17.47±8.20. The highest mean ± SD score was, respectively, related to social dysfunction (6.63 ± 2.86), anxiety and insomnia (5.28 ± 3.53), and somatic symptoms (4.17 ± 3.27). Mental health disorder was significantly correlated with participants’ age (R = .223, P = .00), number of pregnancy (gravida) (R = .272, P = .00), number of births (para) (R = 0.272, P = .00), and number of abortions (R = .172, P = .015). About 80% of pregnant women did not reveal impaired mental health conditions or psychological distress, while 19.3% showed scores that indicate probable mental health conditions. CONCLUSION: Social dysfunction was the most common mental health problem among pregnant women. It is necessary to pay more attention to the mental health status of pregnant women during a pandemic. Interventions such as practical strategies to promote social support and improve pregnant women’s mental health during pregnancy are highly important.