ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2022
The mental health crisis of expectant women in the UK: effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on prenatal mental health, antenatal attachment and social support.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 57 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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
- Auriculotherapy for anxiety, quality of life and fear of COVID-19 in pregnant women: a randomized clinical trial.Revista brasileira de enfermagem · 2025Trial
- Psychosocial Predictors of Maternal-Fetal Attachment in Anxious Pregnancies: A Study Among Women With Prior Miscarriages.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Feeding practices of perinatal Sars-CoV-2-positive parents and their infants: a retrospective review and survey at a large US hospital system.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Maternal stress in pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes among women living with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2026Article
- Associations of Prenatal Social Support in Adolescent Mothers With Measures of Social-Emotional Development in Their Young Children.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- Risk Factors for Prenatal Anxiety in European Women: A Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Vulnerability and Complexity: Wartime Experiences of Arab Women During the Perinatal Period.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- The role of bodily experiences during pregnancy on mother and infant outcomes.Journal of neuropsychology · 2025Article
- Stress, Anxiety, and Depression During Pregnancy: A Survey Among Antenatal Women Attending Primary Health Centers.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Oscillating autonomy: a grounded theory study of women's experiences of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy, labour and birth, and the early postnatal period.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Maternal-prenatal stress and depression predict infant temperament during the COVID-19 pandemic.Development and psychopathology · 2024Article
- Prenatal maternal mental health and resilience in the United Kingdom during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a cross- national comparison.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- The impact of the early COVID-19 pandemic on maternal mental health during pregnancy and postpartum.PloS one · 2024Article
- Prevalence and predictors of prenatal depression during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multistage observational study in Beijing, China.PloS one · 2024Observational
- 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
- Tracking pregnant women's mental health through social media: an analysis of reddit posts.JAMIA open · 2023Article
- The Emotional Landscape of Pregnancy and Postpartum during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: A Mixed-Method Analysis Using Artificial Intelligence.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy: the impact of multimorbidity and smoking status on vaccine hesitancy, a cohort study of 25,111 women in Wales, UK.BMC infectious diseases · 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
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPregnancy has been shown to be times in a woman's life particularly prone to mental health issues, however a substantial percentage of mothers report subclinical perinatal mental health symptoms that go undetected. Experiences of prenatal trauma, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may exacerbate vulnerability to negative health outcomes for pregnant women and their infants. We aimed to examine the role of: 1) anxiety, depression, and stress related to COVID-19 in predicting the quality of antenatal attachment; 2) perceived social support and COVID-19 appraisal in predicting maternal anxiety and depression.
methodsA sample of 150 UK expectant women were surveyed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Questions included demographics, pregnancy details, and COVID-19 appraisal. Validated measures were used to collect self-reported maternal antenatal attachment (MAAS), symptoms of anxiety (STAI), depression (BDI-II), and stress related to the psychological impact of COVID-19 (IES-r).
resultsWe found that the pandemic has affected UK expectant mothers' mental health by increasing prevalence of depression (47%), anxiety (60%) and stress related to the psychological impact of COVID-19 (40%). Women for whom COVID-19 had a higher psychological impact were more likely to suffer from depressive (95% HDPI = [0.04, 0.39]) and anxiety symptoms (95% HPDI = [0.40, 0.69]). High depressive symptoms were associated with reduced attachment to the unborn baby (95% HPDI [-0.46, -0.1]). Whilst women who appraised the impact of COVID-19 to be more negative showed higher levels of anxiety (HPDI = [0.15, 0.46]), higher social support acted as a protective factor and was associated with lower anxiety (95% HPDI = [-0.52, -0.21]).
conclusionsThe current findings demonstrate that direct experience of prenatal trauma, such as the one experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly amplifies mothers' vulnerability to mental health symptoms and impairs the formation of a positive relationship with their unborn baby. Health services should prioritise interventions strategies aimed at fostering support for pregnant women.
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