PREGNANT WOMEN VERY ANXIOUS OVER COVID-19

ANXIETY levels in pregnant women has tripled since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, a troubling new survey has found.

The study by the Coombe maternity hospital showed that pregnant women’s concern for their own health has risen from 17% before the pandemic to as much as 51% since it began.

The survey also found that they had made significant lifestyle changes at the onset of the pandemic, even before the lockdown began.

The majority of those surveyed (70%) reported avoiding all socialising, while almost half (47%) had changed their main method of transport.

Another 35% went into self-isolation when they found out how serious the coronavirus crisis was, with 32% of them opting to stay home from work because of their concerns for their health – and another 20% began working from home.

Krysia Lynch, chairwoman of the Association for Improvement in Maternity Services (AIMS) Ireland said that there’s always an element of the unknown in pregnancy and the coronavirus has only added to that.

‘Women will always feel a sense of uncertainty [in pregnancy], and uncertainty will always breed anxiety, and more anxiety in some people than others,’ she said. ‘Now added to the mix, you have the possibility of contracting a virus which, if you are reading a lot of media, is going to be worrisome for you.’

And the campaigner added: ‘Lying on top of all of that, you now have the way Covid-19 has changed the way you receive your care.’

Ms Lynch also said that AIMS Ireland has received many calls from worried mothers asking for advice and talking about the impact the pandemic has had on their pregnancy – including the way it has changed their circle of support after they have given birth as the isolation measures took hold.

‘Women are completely isolated now when they come home, it’s just them and their partner,’ she said.

‘One of the things that’s really not talked about much is the physiological change that people go through when they become a parent.

‘It is a physical process, absolutely, but it’s also a huge physiological process,’ she said.

‘Becoming a parent and everything that it entails is pretty big for a lot of people.

‘I would say to people if they don’t feel well then please seek support.

‘The first point of contact should be their GP. If they feel they had a very difficult birth experience they can contact us at AIMS Ireland.’