TY - JOUR
TI - Prevalence of postpartum depression and antenatal anxiety symptoms during COVID-19 pandemic: An observational prospective cohort study in Greece
AU - Micha, G.
AU - Hyphantis, T.
AU - Staikou, C.
AU - Valsamidis, D.
AU - Arnaoutoglou, E.
AU - Tzimas, P.
AU - Vlahos, N.
AU - Daponte, A.
AU - Grypiotis, I.
AU - Pappa, P.
AU - Evangelaki, E.
AU - Apostolidou, S.
AU - Paschos, V.
AU - Varvarousi, G.
AU - Bareka, M.
AU - Izountouemoi, G.E.
AU - Tsonis, O.
AU - Koullourou, I.
AU - Kalopita, K.
AU - Kotsis, K.
JO - European journal of midwifery
PY - 2022
VL - 6
TODO - APRIL
SP - null
PB - EU EUROPEAN PUBLISHING
SN - null
TODO - 10.18332/EJM/146233
TODO - null
TODO - INTRODUCTION A significant proportion of pregnant women and women in the early postpartum period suffer from mental health problems. The COVID-19 pandemic represents a unique stressor during this period and many studies across the world have shown elevated rates of postpartum depression (PPD). METHODS In this multicenter two-phase observational prospective cohort study, we aim to assess the prevalence of anxiety prior to labor (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7), as well as PPD at 6–8 weeks postpartum using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). RESULTS Of the 330 women analyzed, 13.2% reported symptoms of depression using EPDS cut-off score ≥13. High antenatal levels of anxiety (24.8% scored ≥10 in GAD-7) were documented. A significant proportion of postpartum women reported a decrease in willingness to attend antenatal education courses (36%) and fewer antenatal visits to their obstetrician (34%) due to pandemic. Higher antenatal anxiety increased the odds of being depressed at 6–8 weeks postpartum (EPDS ≥13). CONCLUSIONS Compared to reported prevalence of PPD from previous studies before the COVID-19 era in Greece, we did not find elevated rates during the first wave of the pandemic. High anxiety levels were observed indicating that there is a need for close monitoring in pregnancy during the pandemic and anxiety screening to identify women who need support in the pandemic era. A well-planned maternity program should be employed by all the associated care providers to maintain the proper antenatal care adjusted to the pandemic strains as well as a follow-up after labor © 2022. Micha G. et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0)
ER -