Pregnant women and new moms are experiencing 'shocking' rates of anxiety and depression during the pandemic

By Anna Medaris Miller| June 19, 2020

Photo: Crystal Cox

"Pregnant women and new moms are experiencing higher rates of depression and anxiety amid the coronavirus pandemic, a new study suggests.

In the study, researchers asked 900 women – 520 of whom were pregnant and 380 of whom had given birth in the past year – about their depression and anxiety symptoms before and during the pandemic. They found that the crisis elevated depression symptoms from 15% to 41%. Moderate- to high-anxiety symptoms went from 29% to 72%. 

Pre-pandemic, about one in seven, or just under 15%, of women experienced such symptoms during the perinatal period.
 
"I was pretty shocked at the magnitude of the increases," said Margie Davenport, a co-author of the study and associate professor of the pregnancy and postpartum health program at the University of Alberta, Canada. 

A number of factors – like physical isolation, increased household and childcare duties, and fears about the state of the world – have contributed to the higher rates of mental health issues among pregnant women and new mothers, a demographic that was already susceptible to developing perinatal and postpartum depression disorder.

Davenport suspects the rates are even higher in people who already face healthcare and social disparities.
"I'm worried that this [data] is potentially underestimating the effects on women who've lost their jobs, and women who don't have secure housing and secure healthcare," she said. 
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Most participants were white, employed, partnered, and living in a single-family home — in other words, had the types of supports that would typically put them at a lower risk for perinatal mental-health issues. Davenport fears the effects of the pandemic, and now racial justice issues, on pregnant women and new moms in more marginalized communities may be even worse."

Finish reading about the pandemic's affects on the postpartum period