The COVID-19 pandemic impact on prenatal anxiety

INTRODUCTION: Anxiety manifestations are one of the most described symptoms during pregnancy. Meanwhile, the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the mental health and anxiety distress in particular, of pregnant and postpartum women remains unclear. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of our study was to evaluate anxiety among prgnant women during covid19 and describe its associated factors METHODS: It was a comparative cross-sectional case- control study in a Tunisian gynecologic department. All women were in the third term of pregnancy. Anxiety symptoms were evaluated using Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). The data were compared to a control group assessed in a similar study conducted before the pandemic in the same city. Eighty pregnant women was investigated during the covid pandemic and 100 pregnant women investigated before the COVID-19 outbreak in Tunisia was assigned to the control group. RESULTS: Pregnant women during COVID-19 scored less on BAI than controls (15.49±9.223 vs 17.40±7.410). Less patients presented moderate to severe anxiety during pandemic (38.8% (n=31) than controls 51% (n=51)). The difference between groups in means and prevalence values was not significant. The negative results could be related to the low power of the test (P=0.36). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the expected psychological distress among vulnerable population , Covid-19 didn’t impact anxiety prevalence or scores among pregnant women in our current study . DISCLOSURE: No significant relationships.