ArticleWomen and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives2021
Differences in levels of stress, social support, health behaviours, and stress-reduction strategies for women pregnant before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and based on phases of pandemic restrictions, in Ireland.
Article in Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 80 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and perinatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Lancet. Global health · 2021Pooled it
- One Year Into the Pandemic: A Systematic Review of Perinatal Mental Health Outcomes During COVID-19.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Protective Effect of Prenatal Social Support on the Intergenerational Transmission of Obesity in Low-Income Hispanic Families.Childhood obesity (Print) · 2023Trial
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stress and other psychological factors in pregnant women giving birth during the first wave of the pandemic.Reproductive health · 2022Trial
- Effect of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program on stress, anxiety, and childbirth fear in pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19.Complementary therapies in clinical practice · 2022Trial
- COVID-19, lifestyle behaviors and mental health: A mixed methods study of women 6 months following a hypertensive pregnancy.Frontiers in public health · 2022Trial
- Fetal programming of infant temperament: An examination of prenatal maternal stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.Infant mental health journal · 2026Article
- Pregnant Women's Experiences of Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Coping strategies used by migrant women during pregnancy. An integrative review.Investigacion y educacion en enfermeria · 2025Review
- A systematic review of COVID-19's impact on pregnancy outcomes.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Review
- The challenges of prenatal care services during the COVID-19 pandemic: qualitative evidence of primary health care providers' perspective in Iran.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Social support predicted subsequent subjective well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: a prospective study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Prevalence and associated factors of prenatal depression in pregnant Korean women during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study.Korean journal of women health nursing · 2023Article
- Coping with subjective and objective stress during a pandemic pregnancy: implications for maternal mental health.Archives of women's mental health · 2023Article
- 'An extra level of kind of torment': Views and experiences of recurrent miscarriage care during the initial phases of COVID-19 in Ireland-A qualitative interview study.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2023Article
- Women's experience of perinatal support in a high migrant Australian population during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed methods study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Level of Physical Activity, Emotional State, and Health Habits of Women in Late Pregnancy and Early Puerperium.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Exploring the stress of olympic postponement due to COVID-19 on elite/international and world-class parenting and pregnant runners.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2023Article
- Article
- Pregnancy, Mental Well-Being and Lockdown: A Nationwide Online Survey in France.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions can adversely impact antenatal maternal well-being and health behaviours.
aimTo examine antenatal stress and stress-reduction strategies, social support, and health behaviours between women pregnant before and during the pandemic in Ireland.
methods210 pregnant women were recruited online and in the antenatal department of a tertiary maternity hospital before the pandemic, and 235 women recruited online during the pandemic. Only women resident in Ireland were included in this study. Women completed measures of stress, social support, health-behaviours, and self-reported stress-reduction strategies. Differences in outcomes were examined between women pregnant before and during the pandemic, and between Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the Irish Government COVID-19 restrictions.
findingsWomen pregnant during the pandemic reported lower perceived social support, including support from a significant other, friends and family, than women pregnant before the pandemic. There were no significant differences in stress in health behaviours but women reported higher stress and less physical activity during the pandemic. Women reported a range of comparable stress-reduction strategies before and during the pandemic. No differences were observed between phases of pandemic-related restrictions for any outcome. DISCUSSION: Our findings highlight negative impacts of the pandemic on social support, stress, and physical activity, which can have implications for maternal and child health. Lack of differences between restriction phases suggests on-going negative effects for antenatal well-being and behaviours.
conclusionDevelopment of supports for pregnant women during the pandemic should include social-support and stress-reduction components.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.