Pregnant women may suffer Covid anxieties, warns gynaecologist

The coronavirus pandemic that is wreaking havoc on people with comorbidities may trigger COVID anxieties among pregnant women, warn doctors and stress the need for taking care of their mental well-being.

Dr Anitha Rao, Senior Consultant of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Rainbow Children's Hospital, Hebbal, said, "We understand that the COVID-19 pandemic is inevitably resulting in an increased amount of anxiety in the general population, and this is likely to be even more so among pregnant women and their families as pregnancy presents an additional period of uncertainty."

Specifically, these anxieties are likely to revolve around the impact of social isolation resulting in reduced support from wider family and friends, possible reduced household finances, major changes in antenatal care, including appointments being changed from face-to-face to virtual contact, isolation, bereavement, financial difficulties, insecurity and inability to access support systems are all widely recognized as risk factors for mental ill-health.

The symptoms to look out for perinatal depression include feeling sad and hopeless, negative thoughts, sleep deprivation or excess sleep, a lack of interest in doing things or being with people and loss of appetite.

Rao suggested that such women stay active with regular exercise, a healthy balanced diet, and folic acid and vitamin D supplementation to help support a healthy pregnancy. "Attend to all your pregnancy scans and antenatal appointments unless you are advised otherwise.

Contact your maternity team if you have concerns about the wellbeing of yourself or your unborn baby. You should tell your obstetrician or maternity team that you have symptoms of COVID-19. If you feel your symptoms are worsening or if you are not getting better, this may be a sign that you are developing a more severe infection that requires specialised care.

You should contact your maternity team for further information and advice. Seek medical advice as early as possible if you have any questions or concerns about you or your baby", she explained. Rao said that the pregnant women who catch COVID-19 may be at increased risk of becoming severely unwell compared to non-pregnant women, particularly in the third trimester.

"Studies have shown that there are higher rates of admission to intensive care units for pregnant women with COVID-19 compared to non-pregnant women.

It is important to note that this may be because clinicians are more likely to take a more cautious approach when deciding whether to admit someone to the intensive care unit when a woman is pregnant," she said.