Journal of South Asian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Register      Login

VOLUME 13 , ISSUE 1 ( January-February, 2021 ) > List of Articles

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Impact of COVID-19 Institutional Isolation Measures on Postnatal Women in Level 3 COVID Facility in Northern India

Manisha Gupta, Neelima Agarwal, Alpana G Agrawal

Citation Information : Gupta M, Agarwal N, Agrawal AG. Impact of COVID-19 Institutional Isolation Measures on Postnatal Women in Level 3 COVID Facility in Northern India. J South Asian Feder Obs Gynae 2021; 13 (1):50-54.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10006-1855

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 01-02-2021

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2021; The Author(s).


Abstract

Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced many aspects of a woman's life. The aim of the present study was to explore whether hospital isolation and containment policies among women giving birth in COVID‐19 Level 3 facility enhanced psycho‐emotional distress in the immediate postpartum period. Methodology: The study was designed as an observational study. All women giving birth at Santosh Hospital, a Level 3 COVID facility in Ghaziabad, from June 2020 to October 2020, were studied. Data collection was done by a pretested structured questionnaire which was administered to the participants in isolation ward on the second postpartum day. The women were interrogated regarding the experiences of the COVID isolation ward with special reference to the problems faced during their stay there, the anxiety for the baby, loneliness, and other factors. The women were evaluated using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Result: The study group comprised 61 women who delivered in our hospital. The mean age of the subjects was 24.2 ± 1.2 years. In the study, majority of the patients were distressed with loneliness (54%) and anxiety for the baby (43%). As the policy of the institution was to hand over the newborn baby immediately to the attendants, the mother was bound to be distressed. Sleeplessness, loss of appetite, and boredom were other problems faced by the COVID-positive patients. The incidence of postnatal depression was 24.5% during COVID-19 pandemic in this institution. In the study, we found that patients with postnatal complications, patients who had symptoms of COVID, whose baby was handed over to the attendants, postpartum stay more than 7 days, and inability to connect to the family had a statistically significant correlation with those who had EPDS score >13. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that perinatal mental health and well-being needs to be protected during this time.


HTML PDF Share
  1. Luo Y, Yin K. Management of pregnant women infected with COVID-19, Lancet Infect Dis 2020; 20(5):513–514. DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30191-2.
  2. WHO. Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) when COVID-19 disease is suspected: Interim Guidance V 1.2. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2019.
  3. Xiaoxuan Z, Yuepeng J, Yang Z, et al. Analysis of the susceptibility to COVID‐19 in pregnancy and recommendations on potential drug screening. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2020; 23: 1–12. DOI: 10.1007/s10096-020-03897-6.
  4. Brooks SK, Webster RK, Smith LE, et al. The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. Lancet 2020;395(10227):912–920. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8.
  5. Hossain MM, Sultana A, Purohit N. Mental health outcomes of quarantine and isolation for infection prevention: a systematic umbrella review of the global evidence. SSRN. Epidemiol Health 2020;42:e2020038. DOI: 10.4178/epih.e2020038. Available from: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3561265.
  6. Guidance for management of pregnant women in COVID 19 pandemic. ICMR NIRRH; 2020. Available from: www.icmr.gov.in.
  7. Torales J, O’Higgins M, Castaldelli-Maia J, et al. The outbreak of COVID- 19 coronavirus and its impact on global mental health. Int J Soc Psychiatry 2020;66(4):317–320. DOI: 10.1177/0020764020915212 [Epub ahead of print].
  8. Usher K, Durkin J, Bhullar N. The COVID-19 pandemic and mental health impacts. Int J Ment Health Nurs 2020;29(3):315–318. DOI: 10.1111/inm.12726.
  9. Radoš SN, Tadinac M, Herman R. Anxiety during pregnancy and postpartum: course, predictors and comorbidity with postpartum depression. Acta Clin Croat 2018;57(1):39–51. DOI: 10.20471/acc.2018.57.01.05.
  10. Bayrampour H, McDonald S, Tough S. Risk factors of transient and persistent anxiety during pregnancy. Midwifery 2015;31(6):582–589. DOI: 10.1016/j.midw.2015.02.009.
  11. Galea S, Merchant RM, Lurie N. The mental health consequences of COVID-19 and physical distancing: the need for prevention and early intervention. JAMA Intern Med 2020;180(6):817–818. DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.1562.
  12. Ahmad A, Mueller C, Tsamakis K. Covid-19 pandemic: a public and global mental health opportunity for social transformation? BMJ 2020;369:m1383. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.m1383.
  13. Dashraath P, Wong JL, Lim MXK, et al. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic and pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2020;222(6):521–531. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2020.03.021.
PDF Share
PDF Share

© Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) LTD.