Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal anxiety in Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Nomura, Roseli Mieko Yamamoto
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Tavares, Isabela de Paula, Ubinha, Ana Carla Franco, Costa, Maria Laura, Oppermann, Maria Lúcia Rocha, Brock, Marianna Facchinetti, Trapani Junior, Alberto, Damásio, Lia Cruz Vaz da Costa, Reis, Nadia Stella Viegas dos, Borges, Vera Therezinha Medeiros, Zaconeta, Alberto Carlos Moreno, Araújo, Ana Cristina Pinheiro Fernandes de, Ruano, Rodrigo, Brazilian Anxiety during Pregnancy Study Group in COVID-19
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFRGS
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10183/231378
• topic: Pandemias; COVID-19; Ansiedade; Gravidez; Mães; Brasil; Inquéritos e questionários; Aleitamento materno; 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.