GESTACOVID Project: Psychological and Perinatal Effects in Spanish Pregnant Women Subjected to Strict Confinement Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Evolution during De-Escalation.

The lockdown and de-escalation process following the COVID-19 pandemic led to a period of new normality. This study aimed to assess the confinement impact on the mental health of peripartum women, as their psychological well-being may be particularly vulnerable and thus affect their offspring's development. A cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted among women who gave birth during strict confinement (G0) and the new normality period (G1), in which a self-administered paper-based questionnaire assessed 15 contextual factors and the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). For each item, it was verified whether the positive screening rate differed in each confinement phase, and a risk factor study was conducted. For G0, significantly higher positive screening and preterm birth rates were observed in the positive screening group. In the case of G1, maternal age (>35 years), decreased physical activity, and normal weight were found to be protective factors against distress. This study underscores the heightened mental health risk for postpartum women during major psychosocial upheavals (war, economic crisis, natural disasters, or pandemics), along with their resilience as the positive screening rate decreases with the new normality. Findings encourage adopting strategies to identify high-risk women and promote effective measures, such as promoting physical activity.

GESTACOVID project: psychological and perinatal effects in Spanish pregnant women subjected to confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and confinement with movement restriction measures were applied in Spain. Postnatal mental disorders are common but frequently undiagnosed, being a risk period to develop anxiety and depression symptoms. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of confinement as depressive and anxiety symptoms in pregnant women (PrW) and puerperal women (PuW) mental health, as well as obstetric and perinatal outcomes during this period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The self-administered survey consists of a total of 28 questions, the first 16 providing contextual information and the following ones corresponding to the GHQ-12 that has been evaluated in a binomial form. A logistic regression model has been used to assess whether the contextual variables acted as a protective or risk factor and its fitting has been represented by a receiver operating curve. RESULTS: Of the 754 PrW interviewed, 58.22% were screened positive. Confinement time for these was 54.93 ± 9.75 days. The risk factors that were identified after the refinement have been to have a worse general state of health, to be sadder and to be more nervous. Among the protectors have been found to have a higher Apgar 10 score and induction of labor. The area under the adjusted regression adjustment curve was 0.8056. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show a high prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms with strict confinement measures. PrW and PuW must be considered a risk group to develop mental health disorders during disruption circumstances. Using a mental health screening tool could help to identify a group of patients with more risk and to carry out a careful monitoring to allow adequate management.