A Qualitative Investigation of the Experiences of Women with Perinatal Depression and Anxiety during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

COVID-19 Maternal Health Perinatal Depression Qualitative Research Social Support

Journal

Maternal and child health journal
ISSN: 1573-6628
Titre abrégé: Matern Child Health J
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 9715672

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
09 Nov 2023
Historique:
accepted: 23 10 2023
medline: 9 11 2023
pubmed: 9 11 2023
entrez: 9 11 2023
Statut: aheadofprint

Résumé

The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on maternal mental health. We explored the lived experiences of women with perinatal depression and anxiety to elucidate their perceptions of how the pandemic influenced their mental health and access to care. We conducted a qualitative descriptive study using semi-structured interviews. From March to October 2021, purposive sampling was used to recruit a socio-demographically diverse sample of women with self-reported perinatal depression or anxiety who were pregnant or within one year postpartum between March 2020 and October 2021. Interviews were conducted remotely and thematically analyzed. Fourteen women were interviewed. Three major themes arose. Theme 1, Negative impacts of COVID-19 on symptoms of depression and anxiety, described how the pandemic magnified underlying symptoms of depression and anxiety, increased social isolation, generated anxiety due to fears of COVID-19 infection, and caused economic stress. In theme 2, Negative impacts of COVID-19 on access to and quality of health care, women described stressful and isolating delivery experiences, negative psychological impact of partners not being able to participate in their perinatal health care, interruptions and barriers to mental health treatment, and challenges in using telehealth services for mental health care. Theme 3, Positive impacts of COVID-19 on mental health, identified advantages of increased telehealth access and ability to work and study from home. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected women with perinatal depression and anxiety by magnifying underlying symptoms, increasing stress and social isolation, and disrupting access to mental health care. Findings provide support for policies and interventions to prevent and address social isolation, as well as optimization of telehealth services to prevent and address gaps in perinatal mental health treatment.

Identifiants

pubmed: 37943397
doi: 10.1007/s10995-023-03809-y
pii: 10.1007/s10995-023-03809-y
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

IM

Subventions

Organisme : NCATS NIH HHS
ID : UL1TR003017
Pays : United States

Informations de copyright

© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

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Auteurs

Slawa Rokicki (S)

Department of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy, Rutgers School of Public Health, 683 Hoes Lane West, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA. slawa.rokicki@rutgers.edu.
Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. slawa.rokicki@rutgers.edu.

Thomas I Mackie (TI)

Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University School of Public Health, Brooklyn, NY, USA.

Robyn D'Oria (R)

Central Jersey Family Health Consortium, North Brunswick Township, New Jersey, USA.

Mariella Flores (M)

Central Jersey Family Health Consortium, North Brunswick Township, New Jersey, USA.

Ashley Watson (A)

Central Jersey Family Health Consortium, North Brunswick Township, New Jersey, USA.

Nancy Byatt (N)

Departments of Psychiatry, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, UMass Chan Medical School / UMass Memorial Health, Shrewsbury, MA, USA.

Patricia Suplee (P)

Rutgers University, School of Nursing-Camden, Camden, NJ, USA.

Classifications MeSH