• Home
  • Mental Health
  • Depression
  • Meditation
  • Stress Disorders
  • Anxiety
  • Mental Illness
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Natural Element
  • Home
  • Mental Health
  • Depression
  • Meditation
  • Stress Disorders
  • Anxiety
  • Mental Illness
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Natural Element
No Result
View All Result

Long-term effects and the importance of social support

March 15, 2023


The COVID-19 pandemic brought changes to many people’s daily lives, and resulted in high levels of mental health problems. The pandemic was especially difficult for pregnant people. New research investigates the long-term impact of the pandemic on pregnant and postpartum people and their infants.

There is concern that the difficulties experienced by pregnant people during the pandemic could be related to issues down the road.
Experiencing disaster-related stress during pregnancy, like that felt during the January 1998 ice storm in Québec, can have a lasting impact on parents and their children. How can we help people begin to recover from the pandemic and support pregnant and postpartum people during future large-scale disasters?

Research over the last two years

The COVID-19 Wellbeing and Stress Study is an ongoing study conducted in partnership between researchers at Mount Saint Vincent University, McMaster University and Toronto Metropolitan University. The research team began following 304 pregnant women from Ontario in the spring and summer of 2020.

Participants completed surveys during pregnancy, and at six weeks, six months and 15 months postpartum.

We wanted to know how the COVID-19 pandemic affected access to prenatal care and how self-reported anxiety, depression and stress affected birth outcomes. We also wanted to know how participants’ mental health fared as the pandemic continued, and what could potentially protect them from the negative impact of the pandemic.

Prenatal disruptions

A woman lying on a clinic bed getting an abdominal ultrasound while a technician in scrubs points to an image on a screen
Almost all study participants were not allowed to bring a support person to their prenatal appointments at some point during their pregnancy in 2020.
(Shutterstock)

According to study participants, access to social and health services during their pregnancies was disrupted.

Almost all participants (91.7 per cent) were not allowed to bring a support person to their prenatal appointments at some point during pregnancy (in 2020). Nearly one-quarter (23 per cent) had prenatal appointments cancelled, and almost half (47.9 per cent) had trouble accessing prenatal classes.

Our research looked at the effects of these disruptions to care on mental health. Disruptions were linked to elevated levels of self-reported anxiety and depressive symptoms. These results are similar to the findings of a national study.

Birth experiences

Disruptions also extended to birthing experiences. The majority (60.8 per cent) of participants experienced a change to their birth plan, affecting things like delivery location, support people or child-care arrangements for other children.

More than one-quarter (28 per cent) of parents reported that their infant experienced problems during delivery, and nearly one-half of infants (46.6 per cent) had at least one problem after birth, such as jaundice or difficulties breathing. Importantly, however, infant birth weight and rates of preterm birth were similar to Canadian rates prior to the pandemic.

We then looked at how psychological factors were associated with birth outcomes. Some participants self-reported pregnancy-specific anxiety — things like feeling anxious about the health of the baby, miscarriage and experiencing difficulties during birth. These feelings were associated with lower infant birth weight, preterm birth and more infant birth problems.

This was not surprising. Other research has shown that mental health problems during pregnancy are associated with these same adverse birth outcomes.

Long-term impact

A woman slightly out of focus in the background with an infant asleep on her shoulder in the foreground
On average, from pregnancy to the postpartum, more than half of participants (50 to 58 per cent) self-reported high levels of depressive symptoms.
(Shutterstock)

We followed the study group for more than a year after they gave birth. Participants had reported high rates of anxiety, depressive and stress symptoms during pregnancy, and these rates declined over the first 15 months of their infants’ life. However, participants did continue to experience these symptoms in the postpartum period.

On average, from pregnancy to the postpartum, more than half of participants (50 to 58 per cent) self-reported high levels of depressive symptoms. Up to one-third (24 to 36 per cent) reported moderate to severe anxiety symptoms. High levels of stress were also reported (13 to 18 per cent).

In comparison, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, global postpartum depression rates are estimated at 14 per cent.

Importance of social support

Despite these high numbers, one thing was clear: participants who were able to seek support from their family, friends and significant other had lower levels of anxious, depressive and stress symptoms during pregnancy. Those who were able to use other effective coping strategies (for example, reframing thoughts, problem solving and seeking support) showed lower mental health and distress symptoms. The importance of social support to protect against the negative impact of the pandemic has been noted by others as well.

These results tell us that we need more, easily accessible mental health and social support services for pregnant and postpartum people and their families. Social support and mental health programs are essential in anticipation of future — possibly long-lasting — public health crises.



Source_link

Share120Tweet75Share30

Related Posts

Exercising One Side of The Body Has Twice the Benefits
Anxiety

Exercising One Side of The Body Has Twice the Benefits

March 23, 2023

It was already known gaining muscle strength in one limb due to resistance training will transfer to the same muscle on the opposite side of the body. This is known as the cross-education effect. However, the key aspect of...

A friend who’s more boss than BFF may be harmful for teens’ mental health
Anxiety

A friend who’s more boss than BFF may be harmful for teens’ mental health

March 22, 2023

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Teens with domineering friends are at heightened risk for mental health problems, according to our new research. Dominant friends often harness decision-making power – for...

Do People Use Positive Emojis to Hide Negative Expressions?
Anxiety

Do People Use Positive Emojis to Hide Negative Expressions?

March 22, 2023

"As online socializing becomes more prevalent, people have become accustomed to embellishing their expressions and scrutinizing the appropriateness of their communication," said Moyu Liu of the University of Tokyo, who investigated this question in a study published in ....

Three Simple Steps to Break the Cycle
Anxiety

Three Simple Steps to Break the Cycle

March 21, 2023

The connection between sleeplessness and anxiety can trigger a host of mental and physical symptoms. Lack of sleep anxiety can be reversed to bring about optimism and inner ease however. On today’s episode of the anxiety guy podcast I...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

  • Anxiety (525)
  • Depression (154)
  • Meditation (249)
  • Mental Health (577)
  • Mental Illness (385)
  • Sound Therapy (2)
  • Stress Disorders (273)

Popular

  • Stress Level Of Americans Is Rising Rapidly In 2022, New Study Finds

    Stress Level Of Americans Is Rising Rapidly In 2022, New Study Finds

    302 shares
    Share 121 Tweet 76
  • How Stress Affects Your Vision

    302 shares
    Share 121 Tweet 76
  • 4 signs of burnout in your teen– and how to help them through it

    302 shares
    Share 121 Tweet 76
  • Helpful Resources During Suicide Prevention Month 2022 – My Brain’s Not Broken

    302 shares
    Share 121 Tweet 76
  • The Covid Symptoms No One is Talking About, But You Need to Know, Say Experts — Eat This Not That

    301 shares
    Share 120 Tweet 75

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Copyright © 2022 Naturalele.com | All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Mental Health
  • Depression
  • Meditation
  • Stress Disorders
  • Anxiety
  • Mental Illness
  • Contact Us
What Are Cookies
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT