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COVID-19 has created new problems for pregnant women in the United States, a group already facing the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world even before the pandemic, recent research findings suggested.
One of your biggest concerns is that your baby will contract the disease, according to a Washington State University study recently published in the journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. Some women expressed fear that simply going to the hospital to give birth would cause them to contract the virus and then they would be forced to isolate themselves from their newborn.
“Pregnant women are really stressed out about getting COVID-19,” said lead author Celestina Barbosa-Leiker, vice chancellor for research at WSU Health Sciences Spokane. “They have a lot of questions for their healthcare providers. There are a lot that we don’t know yet, which is understandable, but it’s especially stressful for moms.”
The researchers also found that the pandemic increased financial worries for pregnant women, made it difficult to find healthy foods, and made them miss prenatal appointments. The study revealed even higher levels of stress and lack of social support among women of color and low-income pregnant women, highlighting an increase in health disparities that already existed before the pandemic.
“We know that prenatal stress affects fetal development, so these are really big concerns,” Barbosa-Leiker said.
For the study, the WSU research team analyzed survey responses from more than 160 pregnant and postpartum women from April 28 to June 30, 2020. They collected quantitative survey responses from the whole group and more qualitative responses. detailed of a sub. – set of women.
In the study, 52 percent of pregnant women and 49 percent of postpartum women were concerned that their babies would contract COVID-19, and 46 percent had sought additional information on COVID-19 protocols in the hospital where they had planned to give birth or had their babies delivered.
In the qualitative part of the survey, women reported many serious concerns. For example, one participant noted that their main concern during the pandemic was contracting COVID-19 and dying. Others were concerned that they would contract the virus in hospital when giving birth and that COVID-19 policies would force them to isolate themselves from their newborn or keep their partners out of the delivery room. Barbosa-Leiker said hospitals had different policies, especially at the beginning of stay-at-home measures, although the recommendation now is to keep babies and mothers together.
During the survey period, 27% of pregnant women reported that they could not get healthy food and 25% had not attended prenatal appointments. Finances also emerged as a substantial problem: 19 percent reported reducing their income; 9 percent had been laid off and another 10 percent reported that someone in their household had lost their job.
Within the survey sample, pregnant women appeared to be more stressed than postpartum women who had already given birth, as they were less likely to engage in healthy behaviors to cope with stress, such as exercising, taking breaks of the news and take the time to read. chill out.
American pregnant women already face more stressors than many of their peers in industrialized countries. According to a report by nine maternal mortality review committees, they have the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world, and social and environmental stressors contribute to an American woman’s risk of dying in the first year of pregnancy.
Previous studies have also shown that American pregnant women have higher levels of anxiety and depression compared to Dutch women, and higher levels of psychological stress than British women, and this was before COVID-19.
The results of the recent WSU study reinforce the need for more resources and support for pregnant women, especially during the pandemic, Barbosa-Leiker said.
“Healthcare providers should continue to talk to moms about all of their stressors, as their mental health and emotional well-being are key during this time,” she said. “Providers may have resources on hand. For example, if they learn that there is a job loss in the family, they could quickly refer them to comprehensive services.”
Other people may be more supportive, too, but in a physically estranged way, Barbosa-Leiker said, as pregnant women and new mothers expressed much guilt for keeping relatives, especially grandparents, away from the newborn.
“We heard a lot from our participants who were stressed because they were afraid of offending family members,” he said.
Barbosa-Leiker concluded: “Given that new parents are doing their best to keep their baby and themselves safe and healthy, we should really try to support parents’ wishes on how they want to deal with visitors during the pandemic. “.
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