Perinatal depression and psychological factors during different periods of the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy

ABSTRACT

Objective. The present study aimed to investigate whether psychologi-cal dimensions that are crucial during pregnancy (perinatal depression, anxiety, prenatal attachment, loneliness, and maternal support) may dif-fer at different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 400 Italian women recruited during two periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy (i.e., 200 Italian women T1 from September to December 2021, and 200 during T2 from March to September 2022). Descriptive statistics and between-group differences were analysed, also considering the stage (prenatal vs postnatal) and type (risk vs physiological) of pregnancy.
Results. Except for perinatal depression, all other psychological dimen-sions differed between groups. Negative psychological dimensions (i.e., anxiety and loneliness) were significantly higher among women recruit-ed during T2 than among women recruited during T1, whereas posi-tive psychological dimensions (i.e., prenatal attachment and maternal support) were significantly higher among women recruited at T1 than among women recruited at T2. A similar trend was found when pregnan-cy stage and type were considered.
Conclusions. This study emphasizes the need to compare and define protection and risk factors in high-risk pregnant women during the pan-demic period from SARS-COVID-19 infection and in the immediate re-opening in “pseudo-normality” thanks to the use of the first vaccination cycles, and addressing women’s perinatal mental health during major stressful events cited, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, high-risk preg-nancy and experiences of loneliness in conditions of hospitalization and the pandemic