{"id":12272,"date":"2021-05-25T12:50:30","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T07:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/?p=12272"},"modified":"2021-05-25T12:50:30","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T07:20:30","slug":"how-the-pandemic-has-affected-new-mothers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/how-the-pandemic-has-affected-new-mothers\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW THE PANDEMIC HAS AFFECTED NEW MOTHERS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Relevance: <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Sociology: Women Issues: Emerging issues: ageing, sex ratios, child and infant mortality, reproductive health.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Context:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What happens when an expectant mother\u2019s in-person social network shrinks or disappears overnight? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the millions of women who celebrated their first Mother\u2019s Day in May 2021, their transition into motherhood occurred in the shadow of the novel coronavirus disease.<\/p>\n

Preparing for childbirth can be joyful and exciting, but COVID-19 restrictions disrupted many women\u2019s prenatal care and forced some mothers to\u00a0deliver their infants,\u00a0without partner or family support. Others faced\u00a0separation from their newborns immediately after birth.<\/p>\n

Expectant parents also missed out on many celebrations and rituals that commemorate the transition into parenthood: baby showers, bris and christening ceremonies, neighbors dropping by with a meal, or\u00a0grandparents traveling to meet the newest family member.<\/p>\n

\"More<\/p>\n

Over the past seven years, studies found that new parents, following couples from pregnancy across the first year postpartum. COVID-19 lockdowns last spring stopped our in-person data collection when our campus closed. But even as it stopped our usual research in its tracks, the pandemic created an opportunity to investigate a unique form of prenatal stress in real time.<\/p>\n

Effects of prenatal stress can last throughout life<\/strong><\/p>\n

A tragic natural experiment helped spark study in the field researchers call \u201cfetal origins of adult disease,\u201d which explores links between pregnancy stress and later health.<\/p>\n

At the tail end of World War II, the Nazi army cut off food supplies to the Netherlands, plunging the country into famine during the winter of 1944-1945. Babies in utero during what became known as the \u201cDutch Hunger Winter\u201d showed\u00a0lifelong differences in cardiometabolic health.<\/p>\n

Because this was a clearly demarcated period of starvation, it even allowed researchers to investigate trimester-specific effects, finding that babies exposed to famine early in pregnancy showed outcomes different from those exposed late in pregnancy.<\/p>\n

The COVID-19 pandemic shares many similarities with these events, including widespread loss of life. But it\u2019s also unique. Communities often unite to grieve and rebuild after natural disasters.<\/p>\n

The need to maintain social distance during the pandemic kept many people isolated from one another\u00a0\u2014 especially many pregnant women, a high-risk population that may have elected to stick with stricter social distancing measures.<\/p>\n

\"Fewer<\/p>\n

What happens when an expectant mother\u2019s in-person social network shrinks or disappears overnight?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Social connection, mental health and COVID-19<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scientists know\u00a0social support buffers the risk for mental health problems\u00a0in mothers. So our lab wondered how the sudden isolation of lockdowns\u00a0\u2014 coupled with the economic and health worries of the pandemic \u2014 might affect pregnant women.<\/p>\n

Only about five per cent of the pregnant women who responded to our survey had a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 as of spring 2020, and a similar number\u00a0\u2014 4.7 per cent \u2014 had experienced the death of someone close to them due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n

However, 97 per cent reported that their community had issued a stay-at-home or shelter-in-place order. Moreover, 61 per cent of women reported that the pandemic had had \u201cvery\u201d or \u201csomewhat\u201d negative impacts on their social relationships.<\/p>\n

\"Prevalence<\/p>\n

A majority of women estimated that at the time of the survey they had much less contact than before the start of the pandemic with neighbors and community members, co-workers, close friends and family members.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, 42 per cent reported much more time spent with their partner than before the pandemic.<\/p>\n

These changes in social contact appeared to take a mental health toll:<\/strong> almost two-thirds of respondents said they had experienced at least some loneliness over the previous week.<\/p>\n

A similar number felt more lonely than usual because of the pandemic. Moreover, about three-fourths of our sample reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had an overall negative effect on their mental health.<\/p>\n

To investigate further, we asked our respondents the questions on the Beck Depression Inventory, a tool that mental health care providers use to assess symptoms of depression.<\/p>\n

The average score for pregnant women in our sample was higher than the threshold that clinicians typically use as an indicator for depression.<\/p>\n

Half of the women in the sample reported clinically significant symptoms of depression. Similarly, more than half\u00a0 \u2014 62 per cent\u00a0\u2014 said they were experiencing clinically significant anxiety symptoms. These proportions are more than twice as high as what we\u2019ve seen in our pre-pandemic sample.<\/p>\n

\"Social<\/p>\n

COVID-19 stress could have long-term effects<\/strong><\/p>\n

It remains to be seen whether the stress of the pandemic\u2019s first wave will have enduring mental health effects.<\/p>\n

Some new mothers experienced\u00a0silver linings of the pandemic, like greater ability to work from home after birth and sustain a breastfeeding relationship. At the same time, the pandemic took a greater toll on communities already affected by\u00a0structural racism\u00a0and\u00a0poverty.<\/p>\n

Research might find different trajectories of mental health, with pandemic lockdowns exacerbating some risk factors while perhaps exerting protective effects on other families.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, our first batch of results suggests that these pandemic infants and their parents are a special population to follow into the future.<\/p>\n

Currently pregnant women may face an easier transition into parenthood now that delivery-room restrictions have eased and social routines are returning to normal. But\u00a0uncertainty, fear and grief from the many losses of the pandemic\u00a0may linger even as the world reopens.<\/p>\n

Compelling evidence suggests that\u00a0counseling interventions such as talk therapy can\u00a0not only relieve but also prevent mood disorders in the period immediately before and after birth.<\/p>\n

Situations in which\u00a0primary care and mental health care are integrated\u00a0and expectant mothers can access psychotherapy through their OB-GYN practices can help treatments reach mothers most in need.<\/p>\n

The pandemic eased many barriers to telehealth, as health care providers shifted to online visits; this format may also show promise reaching families who are still reluctant to make in-person visits.<\/p>\n

We are continuing to follow our participants at three, six and 12 months after their baby\u2019s birth to see how their mental health changes over time, with plans to extend the follow-up past the first year.<\/p>\n

Although infants born in 2020 may not remember the pandemic firsthand, its effects may shape their early lives in ways that we are just beginning to measure.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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