The Impact of COVID-19 Related Distress on Antenatal Depression in Australia

Title
The Impact of COVID-19 Related Distress on Antenatal Depression in Australia
Publication Date
2023-03-02
Author(s)
Frankham, Lucy J
Thorsteinsson, Einar B
( supervisor )
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
MDPI AG
Place of publication
Switzerland
DOI
10.3390/ijerph20064783
UNE publication id
une:1959.11/54350
Abstract

Globally, the impact of COVID-19 on mental health has been significant. Pregnant women are known to be a vulnerable population in relation to mental health. In Australia, there was an unprecedented demand during the pandemic for mental health services, including services for pregnant women. Maternal mental health has unique and enduring features that can significantly shape a child's overall development and poor maternal mental health can have considerable social and economic costs. This cross-sectional study evaluated symptoms of antenatal depression and COVID-19-related distress in a sample of two hundred and sixty-nine pregnant women residing in Australia aged between 20 and 43 (M = 31.79, SD = 4.58), as part of a larger study. Social media advertising was used to recruit participants between September 2020 and November 2021. Prevalence rates for antenatal depression were found to be higher in this study (16.4%) compared with previous Australian prevalence rates (7%). COVID-19 distress in relation to having a baby during a COVID-19 outbreak significantly predicted symptoms of antenatal depression, B = 1.46, p < 0.001. Results from this study suggest that mothers and families may have increased mental health vulnerabilities as a consequence of the pandemic for some time yet.

Link
Citation
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(6), p. 1-10
ISSN
1660-4601
1661-7827
Start page
1
End page
10
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International

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