ArticleMidwifery2023
Depression, anxiety, and stress in pregnancy and postpartum: A longitudinal study during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in Midwifery, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of postpartum depression in the COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Pooled it
- Childbirth attitudes in parous and nulliparous women: the roles of cognitive flexibility, perceived social support, and obstetric factors.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Influences of adverse childhood experiences and weekly pregnancy stress on postpartum mental health symptoms: a machine learning examination.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Perinatal Mood Disorders in Polish Women: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Taxonomy of access to mental healthcare for economically marginalized women during a public health crisis: a qualitative study of obstetric professionals and perinatal women during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- The lived experiences and explanation of women's postpartum sexual and reproductive health: a qualitative study.Reproductive health · 2025Article
- Stress across the perinatal period among low-income mothers and the moderating role of perceived social support.Journal of reproductive and infant psychology · 2025Article
- Trajectories of mothers' perinatal depressive symptoms during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns: The protective role of romantic relationship quality.Journal of psychopathology and clinical science · 2025Article
- Depression among Latina women in the United States from pregnancy to early postpartum: longitudinal examination of risk factors.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Exploring Self-Perceived Stress and Anxiety Throughout Pregnancy: A Longitudinal Study.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Homelessness in pregnancy: life course factors and mental health in the context of COVID-19.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Prediction of perinatal depression among women in Pakistan using Hybrid RNN-LSTM model.PeerJ. Computer science · 2025Article
- Mothers of Young Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Depressive Symptoms and Perceived Stress.Psychopathology · 2025Article
- Contactless exercise intervention in prenatal and postnatal period during COVID-19 lowers the risk of postpartum depression.Scientific reports · 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
- Stress of Prematurity in the Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic-Current State of Knowledge.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionSymptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress in pregnant women are generally highest in the first trimester and then decrease throughout pregnancy, reaching their lowest point in the postpartum period. Pregnant women are a high-risk population for mortality and mental health symptoms due to COVID-19. However, the extent to which the chronic stress of the COVID-19 pandemic alters the trajectory of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms in pregnant/postpartum women is unknown.
methodsWomen (N=127) who were pregnant or who had given birth less than one month prior were recruited via online advertising during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were assessed up to three times during the pregnancy and at 1-month postpartum for depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), anxiety, and stress (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21). Random intercepts models examined symptom change over time as well as predictors of elevated postpartum psychopathology.
resultsOn average, women completed their surveys at 8.5 weeks (first trimester), 21 weeks (second trimester), 32 weeks (third trimester) and 7-weeks postpartum. Women reported mild-moderate levels of depression, anxiety, and stress throughout pregnancy. There was a significant change in symptoms of depression and anxiety over time which was best represented by a quadratic rather than linear trajectory: symptoms increased until week 23-25 and then decreased. Stress levels remained consistently elevated over time. Higher symptom levels at 1-month postpartum were predicted by younger age, lower social support, and worry about going to a healthcare facility. Change in routine due to COVID-19 was not predictive of symptom trajectory from pregnancy to postpartum.
conclusionsDuring COVID-19, symptoms of depression and anxiety increased from early to mid-pregnancy but then declined slightly while stress levels remained elevated. Observed reductions in symptoms were small. Given the substantial persistent impact of perinatal distress and poor mental health on maternal and fetal health, providers should be aware of heightened levels of these symptoms in pregnant women during large-scale external health stressors such as COVID-19, and should implement screening procedures to identify and appropriately intervene with at-risk women.
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