Citation

Yakupova V, Suarez A, Kharchenko A. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022; 19(1): e335.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph19010335

PMID

35010595

Abstract

The aim of the study is to investigate the changes in the maternal healthcare system during the pandemic and their associations with maternal mental health in Russia. A sample of Russian women who gave birth during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 1645) and matched controls, i.e., women who gave birth before the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 611), completed an anonymous Internet survey about recent childbirth. They were assessed for childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and postpartum depression (PPD). Clinically relevant symptoms of PPD and PTSD were high before the pandemic and showed no significant change during the pandemic (p = 0.48 and p = 0.64, respectively). We found a notable increase in the frequency of obstetric violence (p = 0.015) during the pandemic, which, in turn, has a strong correlation with birth-related PTSD and PPD. The problem of ethical communication with patients among maternal healthcare professionals is acute in Russia, and it has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Family and doula support during labor can be a potential protective factor against obstetric violence.

Language: en

Keywords

COVID-19 pandemic; postpartum depression; birth experience; obstetric violence; postpartum PTSD