Maternal Mental Health Status and Approaches for Accessing Antenatal Care Information During the COVID-19 Epidemic in China: Cross-Sectional Study

Background: China was the first country in the world to experience a large-scale COVID-19 outbreak. The rapid spread of the disease and enforcement of public health measures has caused distress among vulnerable populations such as pregnant women. With a limited understanding of the novel, emerging infectious disease, pregnant women have sought ways to access timely and trusted health care information. The mental health status of pregnant women during this public health emergency, as well as how they responded to the situation and where and how they obtained antenatal care information, remain to be understood. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the mental health status of pregnant women during the COVID-19 epidemic in China by measuring their perceived stress, anxiety, and depression levels; explore the approaches used by them to access antenatal health care information; and determine their associations with maternal mental health status. Methods: We conducted a web-based, cross-sectional survey to assess the mental health status of Chinese pregnant women by using the validated, Chinese version of Perceived Stress Scale, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, and Edinburgh Depression Scale. We also collected information on the various approaches these women used to access antenatal care information during the early stage of the COVID-19 epidemic, from February 5 to 28, 2020. Results: A total of 1873 pregnant women from 22 provinces or regions of China participated in the survey. The prevalence of perceived stress, anxiety, and depression among these participants was 89.1% (1668/1873; 95% CI 87.6%, 90.4%), 18.1% (339/1873; 95% CI 16.4%, 19.9%), and 45.9% (859/1873; 95% CI 43.6%, 48.1%), respectively. Hospitals' official accounts on the Chinese social media platforms WeChat and Weibo were the most popular channels among these pregnant women to obtain antenatal care information during the COVID-19 outbreak. Access to antenatal care information via the hospitals' official social media accounts was found to be associated with a significantly lower risk of perceived stress (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.46, 95% CI 0.30-0.72; P=.001), anxiety (aOR 0.53, 95% CI 0.41-0.68; P<.001), and depression (aOR 0.73, 95% CI 0.59-0.91; P=.005). Access to health care information via hospital hotlines or SMS was found to be significantly associated with a lower risk of anxiety only (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.60-0.98; P=.04). Conclusions: During the COVID-19 outbreak in China, pregnant women experienced high levels of perceived stress, anxiety, and depression. During such public health emergencies, mental health care services should be strengthened to reassure and support pregnant women. Specific information targeted at pregnant women, including information on how to cope in an emergency or major disease outbreak, developed and disseminated by health care institutions via social media platforms could be an effective way to mitigate mental health challenges and ensure epidemic preparedness and response in the future.

Automated summary

Pregnant women in China experienced high levels of perceived stress, anxiety, and depression during the COVID-19 outbreak. Accessing antenatal care information through hospital official social media accounts was associated with lower risk of mental health issues. Strengthening mental health care services and providing specific information via social media platforms could help mitigate mental health challenges in future public health emergencies.