Violence and depression among pregnant women in Egypt.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a serious mental health disorder that might affect women in the childbearing period. Incidences increase during pregnancy as well as after delivery. Its association with intimate partner violence (defined as physical, sexual, or psychological harm by a current or former partner) has been reported in many countries. Data about this sensitive issue are lacking in Egypt. The aim of the study was to determine the relation between intimate partner violence and depression during pregnancy. METHODS: This was a case control study conducted at the outpatient clinics in Suez Canal University hospital, from January 2019 to March 2020. The study included two groups, the study group included women exposed to violence during the current pregnancy and a control one included women with no history of violence. Both groups were recruited according to the predetermined inclusion criteria (women aged 18-45 years, continuous marital relationship, no history of depression in current or previous pregnancies, and singleton pregnancy). Women were asked to complete the Arabic validated NorVold Domestic Abuse Questionnaire (measuring four types of abuse: emotional, physical, sexual, and violence in the health care system, the last one being excluded). Depression was evaluated using the Arabic validated form of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (comprises 10 questions that represent patients' feelings in the last 7 days). The main outcome measure was to assess the association between intimate partner violence and depression. RESULTS: We recruited 158 women in each group. Both groups were matched in their demographic characters. Although emotional violence was reported prominently among women exposed to IPV 87.9% (139/158), it was not significantly reported in depressed women (P value 0.084). Physical and sexual violence were significantly reported among depressed women (P value 0.022 and 0.001, respectively). There was a significant difference between women exposed to violence and those who were not exposed to violence in the total depression scores (13.63 ± 5.47 and 10.65 ± 5.44, respectively with a p value < 0.001). Emotional (p value < 0.001) and sexual violence (mild and severe with p value of 0.026 and 0.002 respectively) had significant roles as risk factors for depression during pregnancy in single regression and after control of other confounders. CONCLUSION: There was a strong association between intimate partner violence and depression during pregnancy.

Anxiety and depression during pregnancy in the era of COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate anxiety and depression in pregnant women during this global disease. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study recruiting 120 pregnant women. The study was conducted at the outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital. We recruited women attending for antenatal care. Anxiety was evaluated using an Arabic validated Kuwait University Anxiety Scale (KUAS). Depression was evaluated using a validated Arabic form of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). RESULTS: The study included 48 (40%) nulliparous and 72 (60%) multiparous women. The mean KUAS scores for nulliparous and multiparous women were 45.27±10.78 and 47.28±10.62. Both nulliparous and multiparous women had a fairly high possibility of depression. Fifty-three (44.2%) of them reported scores ≥ of 14. Ninety-three (77.5%) women thought that COVID-19 pandemic would affect their pregnancies. There was a significant association between the number of women reporting fear related to the COVID-19 pandemic and their KUAS and EPDS scores (p-value <0.001 each). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 affected the mental health of pregnant women to a great extent. Care should be directed to measures that would decrease the impact of this pandemic on vulnerable populations.