Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33475148›Full record

ArticleActa obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica2021

Mental health status of pregnant and breastfeeding women during the COVID-19 pandemic-A multinational cross-sectional study.

Michael Ceulemans, Veerle Foulon, Elin Ngo, Alice Panchaud, Ursula Winterfeld, Léo Pomar, Valentine Lambelet, Brian Cleary, Fergal O'Shaughnessy, Anneke Passier and 3 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 117 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
117citing papers in PubMed, 13 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

117 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  9. Prevalence of postpartum depression in women amid the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2022
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  14. Study on Nursing Effect of Psychological Intervention on Uremic Hemodialysis Patients.Computational and mathematical methods in medicine · 2022
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  19. The relationship of birth memory with anxiety and fatigue in postpartum women experiencing earthquake: The case of the Kahramanmaraş earthquake.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2025
    Article
  20. Mental Health After Childbirth in Women with Previous Bariatric Surgery: The SPOtMom Pilot Study.Experimental and clinical endocrinology & diabetes : official journal, German Society of Endocrinology [and] German Diabetes Association · 2025
    Observational

57 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Michael CeulemansDepartment of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-4130-5869
Veerle FoulonDepartment of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Elin NgoPharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, PharmaTox Strategic Initiative, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Alice PanchaudService of Pharmacy, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Ursula WinterfeldSwiss Teratogen Information Service, Service de Pharmacologie Clinique, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Léo PomarMaterno-Fetal and Obstetrics Research Unit, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Valentine LambeletMaterno-Fetal and Obstetrics Research Unit, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Brian ClearyRotunda Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Fergal O'ShaughnessyRotunda Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Anneke PassierTeratology Information Service, Pharmacovigilance center Lareb, 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.
Jonathan L RichardsonUK Teratology Information Service, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Public Health England, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Titia HompesDepartment of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Hedvig NordengPharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, PharmaTox Strategic Initiative, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Funding

Dam FoundationEuropean Research Council 639377Royal Baudouin Foundation
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionEvidence on perinatal mental health during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its potential determinants is limited. Therefore, this multinational study aimed to assess the mental health status of pregnant and breastfeeding women during the pandemic, and to explore potential associations between depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress and women's sociodemographic, health, and reproductive characteristics. MATERIAL AND

methodsA cross-sectional, web-based study was performed in Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the UK between 16 June and 14 July 2020. Pregnant and breastfeeding women up to 3 months postpartum who were older than 18 years of age were eligible. The online, anonymous survey was promoted through social media and hospital websites. The Edinburgh Depression Scale (EDS), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder seven-item scale (GAD-7), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were used to assess mental health status. Regression model analysis was used to identify factors associated with poor mental health status.

resultsIn total, 9041 women participated (including 3907 pregnant and 5134 breastfeeding women). The prevalence of major depressive symptoms (EDS ≥ 13) was 15% in the pregnancy cohort and and 13% the breastfeeding cohort. Moderate to severe generalized anxiety symptoms (GAD ≥ 10) were found among 11% and 10% of the pregnant and breastfeeding women. The mean (±SD) PSS scores for pregnant and breastfeeding women were 14.1 ± 6.6 and 13.7 ± 6.6, respectively. Risk factors associated with poor mental health included having a chronic mental illness, a chronic somatic illness in the postpartum period, smoking, having an unplanned pregnancy, professional status, and living in the UK or Ireland.

conclusionsThis multinational study found high levels of depressive symptoms and generalized anxiety among pregnant and breastfeeding women during the COVID-19 outbreak. The study findings underline the importance of monitoring perinatal mental health during pandemics and other societal crises to safeguard maternal and infant mental health.

Indexed as

AnxietyBreast FeedingCOVID-19DepressionPerinatal CareStress, PsychologicalAdultFemaleHumansIrelandMental HealthPeripartum PeriodPregnancyPregnancy OutcomePsychiatric Status Rating ScalesRisk FactorsanxietybreastfeedingcoronavirusCOVID-19depressionpregnancySARS-CoV-2stress

Identifiers

PMID33475148
PMCPMC8014496

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.