ArticleBirth (Berkeley, Calif.)2021
Mental health among pregnant women with COVID-19-related stressors and worries in the United States.
Article in Birth (Berkeley, Calif.), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 70 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- The prevalence of mental ill-health in women during pregnancy and after childbirth during the Covid-19 pandemic: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Pooled it
- "I'm not alone": perinatal women's experiences in an online self-directed program for perinatal anxiety.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Trial
- Effects of Two Group Prenatal Care Interventions on Mental Health: An RCT.American journal of preventive medicine · 2024Trial
- Behavioral coping phenotypes and associated psychosocial outcomes of pregnant and postpartum women during the COVID-19 pandemic.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Living with risk and uncertainty: a qualitative phenomenological study of women's pregnancy and postpartum experiences in Saskatchewan during COVID-19.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Mental Health Care Disparities Among US Pregnant Individuals in 2020-2021: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Article
- Pregnant Women's Experiences of Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Pandemic-Related Worries and Stressors and Use of Tobacco and Alcohol Among Postpartum Women in the United States Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic.Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974) · 2025Article
- The relationship between financial disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic and mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of public health research · 2025Review
- Association between antepartum depressive symptoms and prenatal care utilization and milestones: a retrospective cohort study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Thoughts on Self-Harm in Polish Pregnant and Postpartum Women During the Pandemic Period.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- The associations between social support and mental health among Chinese immigrant pregnant and parenting women.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Associations between Prepartum and Postpartum Maternal Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety and Stress Related to COVID-19 Pandemic and Childhood Sensory Avoidance: Results from Conception Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Association of COVID-19 pandemic societal closures with gestational weight gain among women in South Carolina, 2018-2021.Annals of epidemiology · 2024Article
- A Qualitative Investigation of the Experiences of Women with Perinatal Depression and Anxiety during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Maternal and child health journal · 2024Article
- Factors associated with COVID-19 infection in pregnant women: Focusing on maternal anxiety.PloS one · 2024Article
- Severe maternal morbidity by race and ethnicity before vs. during the COVID-19 pandemic.Annals of epidemiology · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFew studies have evaluated whether pandemic-related stressors, worries, and social distancing have affected the mental health of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsData came from an online survey of United States pregnant women (n = 715), conducted in May 2020. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale were used to assess depressive symptoms, thoughts of self-harm, and moderate or severe anxiety. Multiple logistic regressions were used to examine the associations of COVID-19 experiences with mental health outcomes.
resultsParticipants were racially diverse. The prevalence of adverse mental health outcomes was 36% for probable depression, 20% for thoughts of self-harm, and 22% for anxiety. Women who reported family members dying from COVID-19 had four times higher odds of having thoughts of self-harm than women who did not experience family death. Depression was more prevalent among women who canceled or reduced medical appointments. Women were more likely to have worse mental health outcomes if they expressed worry about getting financial or emotional/social support, about their pregnancy, or about family or friends. Strict social distancing was positively associated with depression. A higher proportion of adults working from home was inversely associated with depression and thoughts of self-harm.
conclusionHigh percentages of pregnant women had symptoms of depression or anxiety, suggesting an urgent need to screen and treat mental health conditions among pregnant women during the pandemic. Pandemic-related risks and protective factors are relevant to developing tailored interventions to address the mental health of pregnant women during pandemic circumstances.
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Registered trials
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