Antenatal Depression and the Experiences of Australian Women in the Maternity System during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Title
Antenatal Depression and the Experiences of Australian Women in the Maternity System during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Publication Date
2021-11
Author(s)
Frankham, Lucy J
Thorsteinsson, Einar B
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2065-1989
Email: ethorste@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:ethorste
Bartik, Warren
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8344-3306
Email: wbartik@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:wbartik
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Scientific Research Publishing, Inc
Place of publication
United States of America
DOI
10.4236/ojd.2021.104010
UNE publication id
une:1959.11/31660
Abstract
The mitigation efforts of COVID-19 have led to significant changes to the delivery of routine healthcare globally. In Australia, the way maternal health services have been delivered since the beginning of the pandemic has also changed. Maternity care and support are known to influence maternal mental health. One hundred and eighty-eight English-speaking pregnant women residing in Australia were recruited using social media advertising between September and November 2020 as part of a larger study. Participants were aged between 19 and 42 (M = 31.05, SD = 4.68). Compared with previous Australian prevalence rates of around 7% for antenatal depression, rates in this study were 15.9% overall and 19% for those in Melbourne. Antenatal depression was positively associated with COVID-19 distress in relation to having a baby during a COVID-19 outbreak r(186) = 0.30, p < 0.001. It is suggested that increased vigilance with screening and assessment will be required to identify and support mothers who are not coping during the pandemic.
Link
Citation
Open Journal of Depression, 10(4), p. 155-167
ISSN
2169-9674
2169-9658
Start page
155
End page
167
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International

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