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Prenatal anxiety and obstetrical choices among pregnant women in Wuhan and Chongqing during the COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study
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  • Xiyao Liu,
  • Miao Chen,
  • Yu Wang,
  • Lin Sun,
  • Jun Zhang,
  • Yuan Shi,
  • Jianhui Wang,
  • Hua Zhang,
  • Guo Sun,
  • Philip Baker,
  • Xin Luo,
  • Hongbo Qi
Xiyao Liu
Chongqing Medical University First Affiliated Hospital

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Miao Chen
Chongqing Medical University First Affiliated Hospital
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Yu Wang
Chongqing Medical University
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Lin Sun
Chongqing Medical University
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Jun Zhang
Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine
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Yuan Shi
Chongqing Medical University Affiliated Children's Hospital
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Jianhui Wang
Chongqing Medical University Affiliated Children's Hospital
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Hua Zhang
Chongqing Medical University First Affiliated Hospital
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Guo Sun
Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Hubei Province
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Philip Baker
University of Leicester
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Xin Luo
Chongqing Medical University First Affiliated Hospital
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Hongbo Qi
Chongqing Medical University First Affiliated Hospital
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Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the mental status of pregnant women and to describe their obstetrical choices during the outbreak of COVID-19. Design: A cross-sectional study. Setting: Wuhan and Chongqing, two different epidemic areas. Population: A total of 1947 valid questionnaires were received. Methods: We collected information on demographic, pregnancy, and epidemic, along with their attitudes towards the epidemic, anxiety status and obstetrical choices. We described and compared the city-based distribution of all above factors, aiming to explain how anxiety and obstetrical choices existed and differed. Main Outcome Measures: To explore why differences existed, we estimated the impact of the epidemic on women’s anxiety by multivariable analysis. Results: Distribution differences could be seen between cities in employment status, household income, gestational age, fetal number, and exposure history. Women’s attitudes towards COVID-19 in Wuhan were more extreme than that in Chongqing. The anxiety rate was more than double in Wuhan (24.47%) compared to that in Chongqing (10.44%). Generally speaking, obstetrical choices were similar among the 1947 participants, but more obvious in Wuhan. Conclusions: Our study found that the outbreak aggravated prenatal anxiety, and the influence factors could be targets of mental care. Synchronously, vital obstetrical choices changed, followed by pertinent professional advice to prevent irreversible adverse pregnancy outcomes. Online platforms may play crucial roles to address patients’ needs in future PHEs. Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81771614 and No. 81771613), and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2016YFC1000407). Keywords: COVID-19; Pregnancy; Prenatal Anxiety; Obstetrical Choices.
03 Apr 2020Submitted to BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
06 Apr 2020Submission Checks Completed
06 Apr 2020Assigned to Editor
15 Apr 2020Reviewer(s) Assigned
18 Apr 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
20 Apr 2020Editorial Decision: Revise Major
04 May 20201st Revision Received
05 May 2020Submission Checks Completed
05 May 2020Assigned to Editor
12 May 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
05 Jun 2020Editorial Decision: Accept