Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Maternal Anxiety in Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Nomura, Roseli
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Tavares, Isabela, Ubinha, Ana Carla, Costa, Maria Laura, Opperman, Maria Lucia, Brock, Marianna, Trapani, Alberto, Damasio, Lia, Reis, Nadia, Borges, Vera [UNESP], Zaconeta, Alberto, Araujo, Ana Cristina, Ruano, Rodrigo, BrAPS-COVID Brazilian Anxiety Duri
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNESP
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm10040620; http://hdl.handle.net/11449/210082
• topic: pregnancy; maternal anxiety; childbirth; postpartum; questionnaires; breastfeeding; coronavirus disease 2019; pandemic

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have an effect on maternal anxiety and influence postpartum experience. Objective: To study the prevalence of maternal anxiety in late pregnancy in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak in Brazil and to analyze its association with maternal knowledge and concerns about the pandemic. Methods: This was a national multicenter cross-sectional study performed in 10 different public university hospitals, between 1 June and 31 August 2020, in Brazil. The inclusion criteria were: maternal age more than 18 years; gestational age more than 36 weeks at childbirth; single alive newborn without malformations; and absence of mental disorders. We applied a structured questionnaire to explore the knowledge and concerns about COVID-19. Maternal anxiety was assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Results: Of the 1662 women interviewed, the BAI score in late pregnancy indicated that 13.9% presented moderate and 9.6% severe maternal anxiety. Moderate or severe maternal anxiety was independently associated with the fear of being unaccompanied at childbirth (aOR1.12, 95% CI 1.10-1.35), and independent protective factors were confidence in knowing how to protect oneself from COVID-19 (aOR0.89, 95% CI 0.82-0.97) and how to safely breastfeed (aOR0.89, 95% CI 0.83-0.95). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on maternal anxiety.