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The Impact of COVID-19 on Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology in the Postpartum Period

Background: Women in the postpartum period may be particularly vulnerable to the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on postpartum depression and anxiety levels and the role of the fear of COVID-19 in its develop...

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Autores principales: Pereira, Daniela, Wildenberg, Brigite, Gaspar, Andreia, Cabaços, Carolina, Madeira, Nuno, Macedo, António, Pereira, Ana Telma
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9265928/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35805494
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137833
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author Pereira, Daniela
Wildenberg, Brigite
Gaspar, Andreia
Cabaços, Carolina
Madeira, Nuno
Macedo, António
Pereira, Ana Telma
author_facet Pereira, Daniela
Wildenberg, Brigite
Gaspar, Andreia
Cabaços, Carolina
Madeira, Nuno
Macedo, António
Pereira, Ana Telma
author_sort Pereira, Daniela
collection PubMed
description Background: Women in the postpartum period may be particularly vulnerable to the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on postpartum depression and anxiety levels and the role of the fear of COVID-19 in its development. Methods: Women who delivered at the Bissaya Barreto Maternity Hospital, between 16 March and 16 June 2020 (Group 1: Birth in COVID-19 period, n = 207), recruited in the postpartum period, filled in a set of self-reported validated questionnaires: Perinatal Depression Screening Scale, Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale, Profile of Mood States, Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire, Dysfunctional Beliefs Towards Maternity Scale, and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale. Levels of depressive and anxious symptomatology, negative affect, negative repetitive thinking, and the dysfunctional beliefs towards motherhood of these women were compared with data from samples of previous studies that included women whose delivery had occurred at the same Maternity Hospital before the COVID-19 pandemic period (Group 2: Birth before the COVID-19 period, n = 212). Results: Based on the cutoff points of the screening scales, the prevalence of clinically relevant depressive and anxious symptoms in Group 1 was 40.1% and 36.2%, respectively. Women in Group 1 had significantly higher levels of anxious and depressive symptoms, negative affect, negative repetitive thinking, and dysfunctional beliefs towards motherhood than women in Group 2 (p < 0.05). Fear of COVID-19 in the postpartum period was a predictor of depressive (ß = 0.262) and anxious (ß = 0.371) symptoms, explaining 6.9% and 13.7% of their variability, respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, women in the postpartum period present greater depressive and anxious symptomatology, as well as increased risk factors.
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spelling pubmed-92659282022-07-09 The Impact of COVID-19 on Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology in the Postpartum Period Pereira, Daniela Wildenberg, Brigite Gaspar, Andreia Cabaços, Carolina Madeira, Nuno Macedo, António Pereira, Ana Telma Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Background: Women in the postpartum period may be particularly vulnerable to the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on postpartum depression and anxiety levels and the role of the fear of COVID-19 in its development. Methods: Women who delivered at the Bissaya Barreto Maternity Hospital, between 16 March and 16 June 2020 (Group 1: Birth in COVID-19 period, n = 207), recruited in the postpartum period, filled in a set of self-reported validated questionnaires: Perinatal Depression Screening Scale, Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale, Profile of Mood States, Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire, Dysfunctional Beliefs Towards Maternity Scale, and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale. Levels of depressive and anxious symptomatology, negative affect, negative repetitive thinking, and the dysfunctional beliefs towards motherhood of these women were compared with data from samples of previous studies that included women whose delivery had occurred at the same Maternity Hospital before the COVID-19 pandemic period (Group 2: Birth before the COVID-19 period, n = 212). Results: Based on the cutoff points of the screening scales, the prevalence of clinically relevant depressive and anxious symptoms in Group 1 was 40.1% and 36.2%, respectively. Women in Group 1 had significantly higher levels of anxious and depressive symptoms, negative affect, negative repetitive thinking, and dysfunctional beliefs towards motherhood than women in Group 2 (p < 0.05). Fear of COVID-19 in the postpartum period was a predictor of depressive (ß = 0.262) and anxious (ß = 0.371) symptoms, explaining 6.9% and 13.7% of their variability, respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, women in the postpartum period present greater depressive and anxious symptomatology, as well as increased risk factors. MDPI 2022-06-26 /pmc/articles/PMC9265928/ /pubmed/35805494 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137833 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Pereira, Daniela
Wildenberg, Brigite
Gaspar, Andreia
Cabaços, Carolina
Madeira, Nuno
Macedo, António
Pereira, Ana Telma
The Impact of COVID-19 on Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology in the Postpartum Period
title The Impact of COVID-19 on Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology in the Postpartum Period
title_full The Impact of COVID-19 on Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology in the Postpartum Period
title_fullStr The Impact of COVID-19 on Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology in the Postpartum Period
title_full_unstemmed The Impact of COVID-19 on Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology in the Postpartum Period
title_short The Impact of COVID-19 on Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology in the Postpartum Period
title_sort impact of covid-19 on anxious and depressive symptomatology in the postpartum period
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9265928/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35805494
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137833
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