ArticleEarly human development2022
Prenatal distress, access to services, and birth outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from a longitudinal study.
Article in Early human development, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Pregnant women's experiences during a public health emergency: A cross-sectional analysis of the COVID-19 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System COVID-19 supplement.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Article
- Association between COVID-19 by variant period and delivery-related outcomes in the United States.PloS one · 2026Article
- The association between social media for medical information during pregnancy on maternal mental health at the end of the third trimester.Archives of women's mental health · 2025Article
- Predictors of COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress: Prenatal and Postpartum Experiences in Canada.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Changes in the utilization of prenatal and delivery services in the United States prior to, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.Reproductive health · 2025Article
- COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on the Birth Weight of Children Born in a Brazilian Metropolis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Maternal prenatal social contact during the COVID-19 pandemic predicts infant birth weight.Early human development · 2023Article
- Structural racism and violence: Routine healthcare access in a cohort of marginalized Indigenous women and Two-Spirit Peoples during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Research square · 2023Article
- The pandemic experiences of Ontario perinatal providers: a qualitative study.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- The impact of prenatal maternal mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic on birth outcomes: two nested case-control studies within the CONCEPTION cohort.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2023Article
- Article
- Social Determinants of Health, Prenatal Maternal Stress, and Earlier Birth During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Social and personality psychology compass · 2023Article
- Associations of stress, anxiety, and partner satisfaction with maternal-fetal attachment in women pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic: an online study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depression during pregnancy: a cross-sectional study.Korean journal of women health nursing · 2023Article
- Flames of transformation: Igniting better mental and physical health for racialized and gendered North Americans.Frontiers in global women's health · 2023Review
- How do perceptions of Covid-19 risk impact pregnancy-related health decisions? A convergent parallel mixed-methods study protocol.PloS one · 2023Article
- Trajectories of distress from pregnancy to 15-months post-partum during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on birth satisfaction and birth experiences in Russian women.Frontiers in global women's health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
aimsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, pregnant people have experienced disruptions to prenatal care, as well elevated rates of mental health problems and distress. The current longitudinal study aims to understand how different forms of prenatal distress (mental health problems, COVID-19 stressful experiences, and access to prenatal services) impact infant birth outcomes during the pandemic.
methodsParticipants were 265 pregnant individuals from Ontario, Canada. Maternal depression, pregnancy-related anxiety, COVID-related stressors (i.e., financial difficulties, social isolation), and disruptions to prenatal and health services were assessed during pregnancy. Delivery experiences and birth outcomes were assessed in the early postpartum period. Associations between pregnancy stressors and birth outcomes were assessed using path analyses.
resultsParticipants reported experiencing substantial changes to their prenatal care due to COVID-19; 23.0 % had prenatal appointments cancelled, 47.9 % had difficulty accessing prenatal classes, and 60.8 % reported changes to their birth plans. Results of path analyses showed a unique effect of pregnancy-related anxiety during the pandemic on lower birth weight, younger gestational age at birth, and more infant birth problems. Further, multi-group path analysis revealed these effects were more pronounced in male infants.
conclusionsFindings demonstrate that pregnant individuals in Ontario, Canada have experienced considerable disruptions to services during pregnancy. In addition, pregnancy-related anxiety was uniquely linked to elevated risk for adverse birth outcomes, which more heavily impacted male infants. These findings underscore the need for additional mental health support and access to services for pregnant people and their infants, to reduce long-term adverse maternal and fetal health outcomes.
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