Determination of Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Pregnancy During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to determine the depression, anxiety and stress in pregnant women during the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and Methods: The sample of this descriptive study consisted of 203 pregnant women reached over online between May 15 and June 1, 2020. To collect data in the study, the 'Personal Information Form', 'COVID-19 PandemicRelated Information Form' and 'Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21)' were used. Results: In our study, it was determined that 81.7% of the pregnant women experienced anxiety, 56.1% depression and 24.1% stress, according to the median values obtained from DASS-21. The median values of anxiety and stress of unemployed women were higher than those of working women and the difference between them was statistically significant (p=0.011; p=0.023). The differences between social media use (p=0.044; p=0.048; p=0.015), thinking that they are positive for COVID-19 (p=0.009; p=0.014; p=0.001), thoughts about the end of the COVID-19 pandemic (p=0.001; p=0.001; p=0.001), worrying about their own health and the fetus (p=0.001; p=0.001; p=0.001), and experiencing abnormal physical symptoms (p=0.001; p=0.001; p=0.001) had statistically significant effects on the anxiety, depression and stress subscale median values of pregnant women. Conclusion: Pregnant women were found to experience depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is considered that knowing the negative psychosocial reactions experienced by pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic and taking protective measures will contribute to improving the health outcomes of the mother and the fetus.