According to a new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open, COVID-19-related stress had a greater impact on the mental health of pregnant women than on those who were not. The mental health of pregnant women was more negatively impacted by COVID-19 stress than that of non-pregnant individuals. In a long-term study of 742 pregnant women, Dr. Susanne Schweizer of UNSW Science and colleagues from Europe and the United States gathered information on mental health before, during, and after pregnancy.

The findings of the study showed that COVID-19-related stress had the greatest impact on pregnant people who had a tendency to worry, feel lonely, or had a low tolerance for uncertainty. It was observed that feeling stressed about the pandemic during pregnancy not only had a lasting effect on the mental health of the participant but was also associated with an increase in negative moods in their infants.

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control identified pregnant women as a vulnerable group in terms of their physical health during pandemics and disease outbreaks. The researchers stated that the follow-up study found that COVID-19-related stress during pregnancy was significantly associated with poor postpartum maternal mental health outcomes.

The lead author of the study stated that while there is literature showing that maternal postpartum mental health is significantly associated with infant behavior, she noted that this is one of the first studies to examine the association of stress during pregnancy with mother and infant mental health outcomes during the pandemic. 

(Source: https://theprint.in/health/pandemic-stress-affect-pregnant-women-more-research-2/1456462/ )