Post-partum Women’s Anxiety and Parenting Stress: Home-Visiting Protective Effect During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Year: 2022
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a particularly adverse and stressful environment for expecting mothers, possibly enhancing feelings of anxiety and parenting stress. The present work assesses mothers' anxiety levels at delivery and parenting stress after 3 months as moderated by home-visiting sessions. METHODS: Women (n = 177) in their second or third trimester of pregnancy during the COVID-19 lockdown were enrolled in northern Italy and split into those who did and did not receive home visits. After 3 months, the association between anxiety at delivery and parenting stress was assessed with bivariate correlations in the whole sample and comparing the two groups. RESULTS: Higher anxiety at birth correlated with greater perceived stress after 3 months. Mothers who received at least one home-visiting session reported lower parenting stress at 3 months than counterparts who did not receive home visits. CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE: The perinatal period is a sensitive time window for mother-infant health, especially during a critical time like the COVID-19 pandemic. We suggest that home-visiting programs could be beneficial during global healthcare emergencies to promote maternal well-being after delivery.
Authors: Elisa Roberti, Roberta Giacchero, Serena Grumi, Giacomo Biasucci, Laura Cuzzani, Lidia Decembrino, Maria Luisa Magnani, Mario Motta, Renata Nacinovich, Camilla Pisoni, Barbara Scelsa, Livio Provenzi, MOM-COPE study group, Lilia Altieri, Pietra Benedetta, Elisa Bettiga, Renza Bonini, Renato Borgatti, Anna Cavallini, Rossana Falcone, Elisa Fazzi, Barbara Gardella, Paola Guerini, Simona Orcesi, Dario Pantaleo, Federico Prefumo, Roberto Previtali, Laura Riva, Arsenio Spinillo, Patrizia Vergani, Maria Grazia Viganò
Institutions: Fondazione Istituto Neurologico Nazionale Casimiro Mondino, Aziende Socio Sanitarie Territoriale Lodi, Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital, Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale di Pavia, Ospedale Civile di Voghera, Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale degli Spedali Civili di Brescia, Azienda Ospedaliera San Gerardo, University of Milano-Bicocca, Policlinico San Matteo Fondazione, Ospedale dei Bambini Vittore Buzzi, University of Pavia
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,190
OpenAlex ID: W4296946220