The COVID-19 Pandemic: How Does it Affect Pregnant Women?

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has a severe impact globally, not limited to general health and mental health. Pregnant women are a vulnerable group. Hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy significantly affect physical and psychological health. AIM: The purpose of this study was to explore the anxiety felt by pregnant women holistically about their pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODOLOGY: This study is qualitative phenomenological research with a naturalistic approach. The informants consisted of 20 pregnant women from three different islands and provinces in Indonesia in February 2021. They were selected to obtain heterogeneous data based on education level, gestational age, urban-rural areas, culture, and religion. The collection of information data used semi-structured interview guidelines with 12 questions. Data analysis used qualitative content analysis to explore pregnant women’s anxiety with a similar meaning using software (Nvivo release 12). RESULTS: Five domains caused anxiety for pregnant women related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as feeling worried about being infected with COVID-19, the impact on health during pregnancy, the family economy, the circulating information around the community, and unfulfilled spiritual needs in utilizing places of worship. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic influenced pregnant women in a bio-psycho-socio-cultural manner, both about themselves, their fetuses, and their families. Anxiety that mothers feel during the pregnancy process needs proper treatment to protect the mothers’ health and babies’ well-being in the future. Thus, early detection or screening of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic in health services is necessary.