The level of anxiety in pregnant women in COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the COVID-19 anxiety level in pregnant women who presented to an outpatient clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study including 203 of 310 pregnant women who presented to the outpatient clinic of a training and research hospital of the Ministry of Health between 29 September-1 October, 2020. The level of anxiety was assessed with the COVID-19 Anxiety Inventory (CAS) using a face-to-face survey method. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 28.15 +/- 5.95 years. In the study, while 6.2% of women over 30 years old was identified to have psychological problems, 0.7% of those under 30 years old had such problems. The rate of diagnosis of COVID-19 in the family/acquaintances of those with an educational level of high school or high-er was 56.9%, and those who had an education-al level under high school had a corresponding rate of 39.5%. The rate of COVID-19 diagnosis in the family/acquaintances of those with an educational level of high school or higher was significantly higher (p < 0.05). The mean COVID-19 anxiety scale score was 0.18 +/- 0.47; COVID-19 anxiety was not observed in pregnant women. CONCLUSIONS: This study detected no anxiety in pregnant women. Therefore, it can be said that pregnant women do not need immediate psycho-social support.