Unplanned Pregnancy and Depressive Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 20; no. 1; p. 652
• Main Authors: Costa Júnior, Gilberto Assunção, Rêgo, Adriana Sousa, Brito, Andressa Pestana, Furtado, Poliana da Silva Rêgo, Pereira, Thayla Thais Jatahy, Beckman, Lucas Frota, Mendonça, Yuri Alfredo Araujo, da Cruz, Cristina Nitz, Nitz, Magali Kelli, Batista, Márcia Rodrigues Veras, Nunes, Márcio Anderson Sousa, Barbosa, Janaina Maiana Abreu, Leite, José Márcio Soares, Falcai, Ângela, Pacheco, Marcos Antônio Barbosa, Loyola, Cristina Maria Douat, Silva, Maria Raimunda Chagas, Firmo, Wellyson da Cunha Araújo, Silva, Flor de Maria Araujo Mendonça
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 30-12-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Coronaviruses; Counseling; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression - epidemiology; Education; Family planning; Female; Humans; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental health; Pandemics; Pregnancy; Pregnancy, Unplanned; Pregnant Women - psychology; Prenatal care; Primary care; Questionnaires; Statistical analysis; Statistical significance; Variables; Womens health; Young Adult; Brazil; COVID-19; pregnant women; depression; mental health; public health
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20010652

This is a cross-sectional study conducted with pregnant women who underwent prenatal care at basic health units in São Luís City, Maranhão State, Brazil. The authors used a semistructured questionnaire to assess the socioeconomic, demographic, and clinical characteristics of pregnant women as well as the Edinburgh Scale to investigate depressive symptoms. In order to assess the association between the explanatory variable and the outcome variable, Poisson logistic regression was performed with statistical significance at p < 0.05. A total of 205 women were interviewed, most aged between 18 and 29 years (66.83%). Of this total, 74.63% had not planned their pregnancy and 26.67% had depressive symptoms. The variables unplanned pregnancy (PR = 1.41; CI = 0.99−2.00; p = 0.05) and not undergoing psychological counseling (PR = 1.42; CI = 0.51−0.83; p ≤ 0.01) correlated with depressive symptoms during pregnancy. It is thus possible to link the variables unplanned pregnancy (p > 0.05) and not undergoing psychological counseling (p = 0.001) to depression. Therefore, it is important to monitor the mental health of pregnant women, especially in situations of vulnerability.