Introduction:
Covid-19 which was initially perceived as a regional ”epidemic” affecting China and its surroundings, began to cross the Asian borders and then threatened public health globally in the following days.1,2 Thereafter, The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a Global pandemic, most of the countries closed its borders and people were quarantined.3 The novel coronavirus, named as SARS-CoV-2, spreads primarily thru human to human transmission when people are in close contact4 for this reason, businesses, schools, places of worship, restaurants closed and many social events cancelled. Isolation and inadequate information about the outbreak caused fear. Psychological distress and symptoms of mental disorders have increased during the pandemic such as Covid-19.5, 6 During the 2003 SARS outbreak, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms had elevated after quarantine process in Toronto, Canada.7
The fear of getting infected affects the entire population, but it is felt more in pregnant women who are especially sensitive because of the anxiety of contamination of the fetus. Although Covid-19 pneumonia is not common in the pregnancy age group, pregnant women are vulnerable, due to physiological immunosuppression. 8
There are limited studies about psychological wellness in pregnancy during an outbreak. The exaggerated fear of encountering infection in pregnant women was shown in a study of the 2003 SARS outbreak in Hong Kong.9
Its known that maternal anxiety is associated with poor perinatal outcomes as preterm birth, low birth weight, small for gestational age and smaller head circumference.10,11
Although it is important to get adequate psychosocial support during pregnancy, pregnant women feel lonely because of quarentine process in a pandemic. Furthermore they also avoid visits to their physicians in fear of encountering infection in public transports or at the hospital.,
When the Covid-19 pandemic reached Istanbul-Turkey, our research team utilized the opportunity to research the psychological impact of Covid-19 on pregnant women during their visit to the our maternity ward and outpatient clinic with face to face surveys