Generating new life in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic is, for many women, a mixture of joy and concern. The scenario has resulted in a serious effect: the mental illness of pregnant women. In Fortaleza, almost 46% of them showed some symptom.
The data is from the study “Pregnancy during Covid-19: maternal perception about mental health, expectations, fear and the care provided to the child ”, carried out in partnership by the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), the Maria Cecília Souto Vidigal Foundation (FMCSV) and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, from Harvard University.
The survey heard 1,070 women pregnant women from the middle and upper middle classes of Fortaleza, using an online form, in May and June 2020, a period of strict social isolation in the capital. Of the total, 489 showed signs of common mental disorder (CMD), corresponding to 45.7% of the sample.
Psychologist Elisa Altafim, PhD in Mental Health, portfolio leader at FMCSV and a member of the research, explains what it is and what the effects of TMC are.
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Márcia Machado, coordinator of the study and professor at the Department of Public Health at the UFC Medical School, lists the aggravating conditions, which proved to be more common among women in the first three months of pregnancy.
“Not having a partner, living in a house with more than four people, without detachment, and not doing or interrupting prenatal care were also factors that increased the prevalence of mental disorders in these pregnant women”, points out the researcher.
Fear of contracting Covid-19
Solo mothers, according to the study, have a higher prevalence of mental disorders. Most of the interviewees were under 35 years old, and it is they, the most young, who are more sensitive to the effects of the pandemic on mental health.
The fear of Covid-19 was shown to be an aggravating factor, since, in research prior to the pandemic on maternal and child health, only about 25% of women showed signs of emotional disorders, a number that “quase good”, As noted by Márcia.
For Sinnara Costa, 34, who is among the more than 1,000 women who responded to the survey, the tension was almost inevitable: she discovered the long-awaited pregnancy two weeks before the confirmation of the first cases of coronavirus in Ceará, when “the culture of prevention it still wasn’t that strong ”, as he recalls.
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Sinnara discovered pregnancy weeks before the official arrival of the pandemic in Ceará
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“I did feel a mixture of fear and anxiety, due to the state’s situation. But afterwards I calmed down, receiving a lot of strength from the family, who were all very happy with the child’s arrival. Pregnancy was even a consolation to live better days during the pandemic ”, he reveals.
Concern about the possible consequences of a Covid infection for the baby that was to arrive was converted into care: Sinnara adhered to total social isolation, living only with her husband and 6-year-old daughter.
“I was concerned about having the disease, of course, and especially about having complications, premature labor, losing the child or having serious complications. At home, we reinforced all care, and I had a support network following all measures to help me ”, he stresses.
Socializing in isolation
The tension due to the risk of contracting the pandemic disease and the need for isolation to avoid contagion, however, are opposed to the need for socialization felt by women: among pregnant women who worked outside the home, the probability of developing TMC is 21% lower in relation to those who do not have external jobs.
“She is afraid to leave the house, but sociability can make her have friends, talk. The question of keeping in touch makes her put her emotions out. It is a protective factor for mental health, but at risk in relation to the pandemic ”, ponders the coordinator of the study.
You health risks of mother and baby also grow in the face of emotional instability: according to Márcia, a nurse by training, mothers with anxiety and depression are more likely to increase their blood pressure, for example, which can lead to premature births.
“We contacted the nursing and medical associations in Ceará, with groups of psychologists, to present the problem. The primary care network itself has been informed so that community health workers can send messages, show that they are available to these women ”, says the UFC professor.
Children’s development
Part of the interviewees already had children up to six years old, and their behavior was also addressed in the study, showing emotional difficulties, longing for friends and family and greater exposure to screens, a possible relationship with the social distancing.
Psychologist Elisa Altafim highlights the importance of maternal health care to ensure good child development.
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Another stage of the research is already underway, and will monitor over the next five years about 500 women who had babies in July and August 2020, the final months of the first wave from Covid in Fortaleza.
“The idea is to assess not only their mental health, but child development and parenting issues. We’ve already interviewed more than 200 of them, this time from all social strata, and many say they’re nervous, concerned and sad ”, reports the UFC scientist.
The reflection focuses on babies: about a quarter of them are not breastfeeding. In a context in which the income of a good part of the families has reduced, as pointed out by Márcia Machado, the future worries.
“It is necessary to guarantee income transfer to these women, such as the Mais Infância Card, to avoid hunger. Without food and without breastfeeding, for health reasons, there may even be an increase in malnutrition in these children ”, warns the researcher.
