‘Is the Fear of Coronavirus Bigger than the Reality Of Coronavirus?’ The Relationship of the Level of Depression and Social Support of the Postpartum Women with the Fear of COVID-19

Year 2023, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 281 - 295, 31.05.2023

Pınar Uzunkaya Öztoprak , Pelin Calpbinici , Ayşe Sevim Akbay Kısa

https://doi.org/10.19127/mbsjohs.1244248

Abstract

Objective: This study has been carried out aiming to determine the correlation between the fear of COVID-19 experienced by women in the postpartum period and the postpartum depression and the level of perceived social support, and the factors affecting the fear of COVID-19.

Methods: The data of this cross-sectional and correlation-seeking study was collected through an online questionnaire conducted between February and April 2021. The introductory information form, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were used for data collection in the study. Continuous variables were reported as mean±standard deviation and categorical variables were reported as numbers and percentages (%).

Results: It has been determined in the study that 65.1% of women experienced the fear of COVID-19 in high level. A statistically significant difference has been found between the women's age, education level, and their fear of their infants being infected with the coronavirus and the fear of COVID-19 (p<0.05). It has been discovered that as women's fear of COVID-19 increases, so does the risk of postpartum depression.

Conclusion: It becomes more of an issue to monitor the level of the fear of coronavirus and postpartum depression and to plan appropriate interventions for the purpose of protecting and maintaining maternal health during the pandemic process.

Keywords

COVID-19, depression, fear, postpartum period

References

• 1. World Health Organization. Q&A on COVID-19, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-on-covid-19-pregnancy-childbirth-and-breastfeeding
• 2. Turkish Academy of Sciences. COVID-19 global outbreak assessment report, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from http://www.tuba.gov.tr/en/news/about-academy/tuba-covid-19-global-outbreak-evaluation-report-published 3. Asmundson GJG, Taylor S. Coronaphobia: Fear and the 2019-nCoV outbreak. J Anxiety Disord. 2020;70:102196. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102196
• 4. Haleem A, Javaid M, Vaishya R. Effects of COVID-19 pandemic in daily life. Curr Med Res Pract. 2020;10(2):78-79. doi:10.1016/j.cmrp.2020.03.011
• 5. Evcili F, Demirel G. An evaluation on the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on women's health and recommendations. Turkish Journal of Science and Health. 2020;1(2): 1-2. (In Turkish)
• 6. An R, Chen X, Wu Y, et al. A survey of postpartum depression and health care needs among Chinese postpartum women during the pandemic of COVID-19. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2021;35(2):172-177. doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2021.02.001
• 7. Miranda AR MD, Scotta AV MD, Cortez MV PhD, Soria EA PhD. Triggering of postpartum depression and insomnia with cognitive impairment in Argentinian women during the pandemic COVID-19 social isolation in relation to reproductive and health factors. Midwifery. 2021;102:103072. doi:10.1016/j.midw.2021.103072
• 8. Chrzan-Dętkoś M, Walczak-Kozłowska T, Lipowska M. The need for additional mental health support for women in the postpartum period in the times of epidemic crisis. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2021;21(1):114. Published 2021 Feb 8. doi:10.1186/s12884-021-03544-8
• 9. Stojanov J, Stankovic M, Zikic O, Stankovic M, Stojanov A. The risk for nonpsychotic postpartum mood and anxiety disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Int J Psychiatry Med. 2021;56(4):228-239. doi:10.1177/0091217420981533
• 10. Suzuki S. Psychological status of postpartum women under the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2022;35(9):1798-1800. doi:10.1080/14767058.2020.1763949
• 11. Bingol TY, Tel H. Perceived social support and depression levels in postpartum women and influencing factors. Anatolian Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences., 2007;10(3):1-6. (In Turkish)
• 12. Ahorsu DK, Lin CY, Imani V, Saffari M, Griffiths MD, Pakpour AH. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Development and Initial Validation. Int J Ment Health Addict. 2022;20(3):1537-1545. doi:10.1007/s11469-020-00270-8
• 13. Bakioğlu F, Korkmaz O, Ercan H. Fear of COVID-19 and Positivity: Mediating Role of Intolerance of Uncertainty, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress. Int J Ment Health Addict. 2021;19(6):2369-2382. doi:10.1007/s11469-020-00331-y
• 14. Nikopoulou VA, Holeva V, Parlapani E, et al. Mental Health Screening for COVID-19: a Proposed Cutoff Score for the Greek Version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S). Int J Ment Health Addict. 2022;20(2):907-920. doi:10.1007/s11469-020-00414-w
• 15. Cox JL, Holden JM, Sagovsky R. Detection of postnatal depression. Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Br J Psychiatry. 1987;150:782-786. doi:10.1192/bjp.150.6.782
• 16. Engindeniz AN, Kuey L, Kultur S. Edinburg postpartum depression inventory. In Study of validity and reliability for Turkish forum, Spring Symposiums; 1997 April; p. 51-52. (In Turkish)
• 17. Zimet GD, Dahlem NW, Zimet SG., Farley GK. The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. JPA. 1988; 52(1): 30-41. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2
• 18. Eker D. Arkar H. Çok boyutlu algılanan sosyal destek ölçeğinin faktör yapısı, geçerlik ve güvenirliği. Türk Psikoloji Dergisi. 1995; 10(34): 45‐55.
• 19. Eker D, Arkar H, Yaldız H. Çok Boyutlu Algılanan Sosyal Destek Ölçeği’nin Gözden Geçirilmiş Formunun Faktör Yapısı, Geçerlik ve Güvenirliği. Türk Psikiyatri Dergisi. 2001;12(1): 17-25.
• 20. Guvenc G, Yesilcinar İ, Ozkececi F, et al. Anxiety, depression, and knowledge level in postpartum women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Perspect Psychiatr Care. 2021;57(3):1449-1458. doi:10.1111/ppc.12711
• 21. Matsushima M, Tsuno K, Okawa S, Hori A, Tabuchi T. Trust and well-being of postpartum women during the COVID-19 crisis: Depression and fear of COVID-19. SSM Popul Health. 2021;15:100903. Published 2021 Aug 26. doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100903
• 22. Uzun A, Ozturk GZ, Bozkurt Z, Cavusoglu M. (). Investigating of fear of COVID-19 after pregnancy and association with breastfeeding. JIDHealth. 2021; 4(1): 327-333. doi: 10.47108/jidhealth.vol4.iss1.98
• 23. Broche-Pérez Y, Fernández-Fleites Z, Jiménez-Puig E, Fernández-Castillo E, Rodríguez-Martin BC. Gender and Fear of COVID-19 in a Cuban Population Sample Int J Ment Health Addict. 2022;20(1):83-91. doi:10.1007/s11469-020-00343-8
• 24. Parlapani E, Holeva V, Voitsidis P, et al. Psychological and Behavioral Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Greece. Front Psychiatry. 2020;11:821. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00821
• 25. Kalafatoglu MR, Yam FC. Research of Individuals' Fears of Covid-19 in Terms of Some Variables. Humanistic Perspective. 2021; 3(2): 306-323. (In Turkish)
• 26. Turktemiz H, Bayraktar I, Cobanoglu HO, Nalbant O. Examination of the anxiety of athletes who exercise in gyms about getting a new type of coronavirus (COVID-19). In III. Internatıonal Conference on COVID-19 Studies Proceeding Book; 2020 December; p. 116-124). (In Turkish)
• 27. Ozdemir O, Ozdemir PG, Kadak MT, Nasıroglu S. Personality Development. Current Approaches in Psychiatry. 2012;4(4):566-589. (In Turkish)
• 28. Zhong BL, Luo W, Li HM, et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak: a quick online cross-sectional survey. Int J Biol Sci. 2020;16(10):1745-1752. doi:10.7150/ijbs.45221
• 29. Jadoo SAA, Dastan I, Al-Samarrai MAM, et al. Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards COVID-19 among Syrian people resident in Turkey. JIDHealth. 2020;3(2): 278-285. doi: 10.47108/jidhealth.Vol3.IssSpecial2.61
• 30. Salari N, Hosseinian-Far A, Jalali R, et al. Prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Global Health. 2020;16(1):57. doi:10.1186/s12992-020-00589-w
• 31. Sun G, Wang Q, Lin Y, et al. Perinatal Depression of Exposed Maternal Women in the COVID-19 Pandemic in Wuhan, China. Front Psychiatry. 2020;11:551812. Published 2020 Dec 16. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.551812
• 32. Peng S, Zhang Y, Liu H, et al. A multi-center survey on the postpartum mental health of mothers and attachment to their neonates during COVID-19 in Hubei Province of China. Ann Transl Med. 2021;9(5):382. doi:10.21037/atm-20-6115
• 33. Dule A, Hajure M, Mohammedhussein M, Abdu Z. Health-related quality of life among Ethiopian pregnant women during COVID-19 pandemic. Brain Behav. 2021;11(4):e02045. doi:10.1002/brb3.2045