Psychological distress during COVID-19 among pregnant women attending antenatal outpatient department at tertiary hospital

Psychological distress in pregnancy during COVID-19

Authors

Keywords:

COVID-19, Pregnant Women, Psychological Distress

Abstract

Introduction: It is known that a pregnant person’s body is undergoing immune system changes and is not operating the same way as a non-pregnant person’s body, which threatens the emotional states of women trying to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The present study aimed to identify the psychological distress during COVID-19 among pregnant women.

Method: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted at the antenatal outpatient department of Patan Hospital, Nepal. The non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to select 457 samples. Ethical approval was obtained. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview using the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (5 items) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (10 items). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analyzing the data.

Result: The average age of the respondents was 27 years. Results revealed that only 5(1.1%) pregnant women had anxiety, while 23(5.0%) had possible depression due to COVID-19. None of the sociodemographic variables were significantly associated with psychological distress (anxiety and depression) among pregnant women.

Conclusion: Psychological distress was found to be minimal among pregnant women attending antenatal OPD in Patan Hospital.

Keywords: COVID-19, pregnant women, psychological distress

 

Author Biographies

Roshani Agrawal Khatry, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal

Assistant Professor, Lalitpur Nursing Campus, School of Nursing and Midwifery

Nirmala Ghimire, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal

Assistant Professor, Lalitpur Nursing Campus, School of Nursing and Midwifery 

Ratna Kumari Maharjan, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal

Assistant Professor, Lalitpur Nursing Campus, School of Nursing and Midwifery 

Niran Shrestha, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal

Assistant Professor, Lalitpur Nursing Campus, School of Nursing and Midwifery

 

 

https://doi.org/10.3126/jpahs.v8i3.32232

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Published

2022-01-05