Psychological and social impact and lifestyle changes among pregnant women of COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study.
Özlem Güner, Ruşen Öztürk
PMID 35094829WHAT IT FOUND
Pregnant women described fear for themselves and their babies, disrupted antenatal care, isolation, and stress about birth.
They wanted clearer information and support from healthcare professionals more than psychological counseling.
Key findings
01Almost all participants said the pandemic affected them psychologically, including fear of infecting themselves, their babies, and family members.
02Twelve participants reduced antenatal follow-ups because of fear of hospitals, and three had late diagnosis of pregnancy complications.
03Most participants wanted more information and counseling about pregnancy and COVID-19, while fewer said they needed psychological counseling.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only 30 women in Turkey were interviewed, so the themes cannot show how common these experiences are in other groups. Participants were recruited through social media and excluded women infected with COVID-19 or with serious maternal and fetal health problems, so the sample may not represent pregnant women with those conditions. Interviews were by phone, so visual cues were not observed. The study did not measure how severe anxiety or depression was, so it cannot say how common or how strong these effects were. The study reports experiences and themes, not whether any care change reduced stress or complications.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that the pandemic caused a specific level of depression or anxiety, or that telephone counseling reduced stress. It is a qualitative interview study of 30 pregnant women, so it reports their described experiences, not measured outcomes or tested effects.