The Relationship between Fear of Covid-19, Anxiety and Depression in Pregnant Women

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) fear, anxiety and depression on pregnant women. Methods: The cross-sectional, correlational research was conducted with 335 pregnant women from June to October 2020 at the antenatal outpatient clinics of a university hospital. Data were collected using Description Form, Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Results: The FCV-19S, BAI and EPDS average scores were 21.12±6.56, 6.39±5.48 and 8.13±9.13, respectively, indicating pregnant women' levels of COVID-19 fear were moderately high and their anxiety and depression levels were moderate. Overall, 14.0% of pregnant women had depression risk and 42.4% had symptoms of anxiety (26.3% low level, 10.4% moderate level and 5.7% high level). A positive, significant relationship was found between the COVID-19 fear level and depression (r=0.207, p