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Document Type

Original Article

Abstract

Background: Globally, mental health has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent research has linked the SARS-CoV-2 virus's transmission to anxiety and depressive symptoms, which are most common in postpartum women.

Aim of the work: To detect prevalence of post-partum depression and anxiety among women who got infected with COVID-19 virus during their pregnancy period.

Patient and methods: This observational prospective study was conducted at psychiatry, pulmonology, gynecology & obstetric clinics in addition to isolation wards at Al-Azhar University hospitals in the period from beginning of Jan. 2022 for 6 months. Thirty-five postpartum women infected with COVID-19 virus while pregnant were recruited during first 4 weeks after delivery. Each woman was screened by Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS). Positive women were interviewed to confirm the diagnosis. Negative-scales and unconfirmed-diagnosis women were screened again using the same scales 1, 3 and 6 months following the first screen and finally the prevalence was detected.

Results: In the current study, the mean age was 25.31 ± 5.12 years. Only 19 (54%) women were diagnosed to have Post-partum Depression with Anxiety symptoms (with positive scales and confirmed-diagnosis clinical interview), while 16 (46%) were not diagnosed (Negative-scales + unconfirmed-diagnosis clinical interview). Follow up at 1, 3 and 6 months revealed no additional diagnosed-women. Prevalence was 54% among all participants.

Conclusion: Maternal postpartum depression and anxiety in our study are at an elevated level during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

•Postpartum •Depression •Anxiety •COVID-19 •Pregnancy •Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) •Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS)

Subject Area

Psychiatry

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