ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2022
Parents of young infants report poor mental health and more insensitive parenting during the first Covid-19 lockdown.
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 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of COVID-19 on emotional and behavioral problems among preschool children: a meta-analysis.BMC pediatrics · 2024Pooled it
- Prenatal exposure to SARS-CoV-2, early relational health, and child socio-emotional functioning in the first 6 months.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- The association between parental mental health and screen time among U.S. children aged 6-17.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Maternal drinking, stress and use of aggressive parenting over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2025Article
- COVID and depression among stratified population groups: a narrative review.European journal of medical research · 2023Review
- [Digital midwifery care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany-acceptance of mothers].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2023Article
- Associations between breastfeeding intention, breastfeeding practices and post-natal depression during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-country cross-sectional study.Maternal & child nutrition · 2023Article
- Examining the Relationship between Paternal Mental Health and Informal Support Networks: Reflections on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Prenatal hair cortisol concentrations during the COVID-19 outbreak: Associations with maternal psychological stress and infant temperament.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2022Article
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8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Covid-19 pandemic has put an unprecedented pressure on families with children. How parents were affected by the first Covid-19 lockdown during the early postpartum period, an already challenging period for many, is unknown.
aimTo investigate the associations between Covid-19 related stress, mental health, and insensitive parenting practices in mothers and fathers with young infants during the first Dutch Covid-19 lockdown.
methodsThe Dutch Covid-19 and Perinatal Experiences (COPE-NL) study included 681 parents of infants between 0 and 6 months (572 mothers and 109 fathers). Parents filled out online questionnaires about Covid-19 related stress, mental health (i.e. anxiety and depressive symptoms), and insensitive parenting. Hierarchical regression models were used to analyze the data.
resultsParents of a young infant reported high rates of Covid-19 related stress, with higher reported stress in mothers compared to fathers. Additionally, the percentages of mothers and fathers experiencing clinically meaningful mental health symptoms during the pandemic were relatively high (mothers: 39.7% anxiety, 14.5% depression; fathers: 37.6% anxiety, 6.4% depression). More Covid-19 related stress was associated with more mental health symptoms in parents and increased insensitive parenting practices in mothers.
conclusionsThe results emphasize the strain of the pandemic on young fathers' and mothers' mental health and its potential negative consequences for parenting. As poor parental mental health and insensitive parenting practices carry risk for worse child outcomes across the lifespan, the mental health burden of the Covid-19 pandemic might not only have affected the parents, but also the next generation.
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