Investigating Anxiety, Depression and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Among the Pregnant Women During COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Aim: Our study aimed to investigate anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCDs) among pregnant women during the Covid-19pandemic.Material and Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 71 pregnant women who referred to Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic betweenJune and July 2020 for routine pregnancy examination. The Beck anxiety inventory (BAI), the Beck depression inventory (BDI), and the Maudsleyobsessive-compulsive inventory (MOCI) were used to assess the rate of depression, anxiety, and OCD. The questionnaire containing informationabout smoking, working status, gravidity, and education was completed by the subjects.Results: Mean age of the participants was 30 years and their mean body mass index (BMI) was 24.4. 76.1% of the participants were non-smokers.71.8% were nulliparous. 62% of pregnant women had a high school degree. 80.3% were working. There was a positive significant relationship betweenBDI and BAI (r=0.405, 0.000) and MOCI scores (r=0.319, sig= 0.007). There was a negative statistically significant relationship between OCD andBMI (r=-0.268, sig=0.024). Anxiety, depression, and OCDs were not significantly different between smokers and non-smokers. Working pregnantwomen had significantly higher depression and OCDs than the non-working had. The pregnant women showed mild to severe anxiety and depressionlevels and also showed moderate to high OCDs under the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of the pregnant women showed mild depression, moderateanxiety, and high OCD. The results showed that the studied pregnant women experienced mental complications under the Covid-19 pandemic.Conclusion: Since the mental health of pregnant women is highly important, one should pay special attention to the mental health of workingpregnant women under the Covid-19 pandemic. The reason is that such women are more vulnerable to infectious diseases such as Covid-19.