The outbreak of coronavirus disease in China: Risk perceptions, knowledge, and information sources among prenatal and postnatal women.

Data were collected in February 2020, when global confirmed cases were fewer than 80,000, so the findings may not apply to later pandemic phases. Participants were recruited only in Nanjing and nearby regions through WeChat, so they may not represent childbearing women in China or other countries. 79.6% held an undergraduate degree, the mean age was 29.55 years, 91.8% reported no pregnancy complications, and 94.5% reported no chronic disease before pregnancy, so the sample was younger, more educated, and lower-risk than some patient groups. The questionnaire was developed by the research team, with content validity checked by two experts and internal consistency reported as 0.81 to 0.95, but it was not tested as a validated instrument in other populations. The study is cross-sectional and self-reported, so it cannot show why women held these perceptions or whether information sources changed their behaviour.

This research was funded by the Science and Technology Development Fund of Nanjing Medical University, and the authors declared no competing interests.

Do not read the 76.4% correct knowledge score as proof that pregnant women were fully informed. Many were unsure or wrong about vertical transmission, breastfeeding, antibiotics, and specific medicines, and the survey was done early in the outbreak in one Chinese city.