Psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on one-month postpartum mothers in a metropolitan area of Japan

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

Takahiro Nemoto¹  Takashi Uchino¹  Momoko Iwai¹  Youji Takubo²  Megumu Ito³  Yasuo Akiba³  Yuri Aikawa⁴  Kazuyo Fukiya⁴  Naohisa Tsujino⁵  Masafumi Mizuno⁶ 

[1] Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University Faculty of Medicine, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, 143-8541, Tokyo, Japan;Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University Graduate School of Medicine, 5-21-16 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, 143-8540, Tokyo, Japan;Department of Psychiatry, Saiseikai Yokohamashi Tobu Hospital, 3-6-1 Shimosueyoshi, Tsurumi-ku, 230-8765, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan;Department of Obstetrics and gynaecology, Saiseikai Yokohamashi Tobu Hospital, 3-6-1 Shimosueyoshi, Tsurumi-ku, 230-8765, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan;Department of Psychiatry, Saiseikai Yokohamashi Tobu Hospital, 3-6-1 Shimosueyoshi, Tsurumi-ku, 230-8765, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan;Department of Psychiatry, Saiseikai Yokohamashi Tobu Hospital, 3-6-1 Shimosueyoshi, Tsurumi-ku, 230-8765, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan;Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University Faculty of Medicine, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, 143-8541, Tokyo, Japan;Tokyo Metropolitan Matsuzawa Hospital, 2-1-1 Kamikitazawa, Setagaya-ku, 156-0057, Tokyo, Japan;

关键词: Anxiety;    COVID-19;    Japan;    Postnatal depression;    Postpartum;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12884-021-04331-1

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has recently become the most important issue in the world. Very few reports in Japan have examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on peripartum mental health. We examined the status of postpartum mental health before and during COVID-19 pandemic from a consecutive database in a metropolitan area of Japan.MethodsThe subjects were women who had completed a maternity health check-up at a core regional hospital in Yokohama during the period from April 1, 2017, to December 31, 2020. We collected the subjects’ scores for the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS) at 1 month postpartum. The subjects were divided into four groups (three Before COVID-19 groups and a During COVID-19 group). MANOVA and post-hoc tests were used to determine mental health changes in the postpartum period among the four groups.ResultsThe Before and During COVID-19 groups contained 2844 and 1095 mothers, respectively. There were no significant difference in the total scores of the EPDS and MIBS among the four groups. However, the EPDS items related to anxiety factors were significantly higher and the EPDS items related to anhedonia and depression factors (excluding thoughts of self-harm) were significantly lower in the During COVID-19 group.ConclusionThe EPDS scores changed in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. Anxiety, which represent hypervigilance, was significantly higher and anhedonia and depression were significantly lower in the During COVID-19 group. Our results may reflect COVID-19-related health concerns and a lack of social support caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

【 授权许可】

CC BY