Knowledge, attitudes, practices, and influencing factors of anxiety among pregnant women in Wuhan during the outbreak of COVID-19: a cross-sectional study

Background: Prenatal anxiety has been a significant public health issue globally, leading to adverse health outcomes for mothers and children. The study aimed to evaluate the sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP), and anxiety level of pregnant women during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic in Wuhan and investigate the influencing factors for prenatal anxiety in this specific context. Methods: Pregnant subjects' KAP towards COVID-19 and their sociodemographics and pregnancy information were collected using questionnaires. The Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) was used to assess anxiety status. Factors associated with the level of prenatal anxiety were analyzed by Pearson's chi-square test and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results: The prenatal anxiety prevalence in this population was 20.8%. The mean score of knowledge was 13.21.1 on a 0 similar to 14 scale. The attitudes and practices data showed that 580/817 (71.0%) were very concerned about the news of COVID-19, 455/817 (55.7%) considered the official media to be the most reliable information source for COVID-19, and 681/817 (83.4%) were anxious about the possibility of being infected by COVID-19. However, only 83/817 (10.2%) worried about contracting COVID-19 infection through the ultrasound transducer during a routing morphology scan. About two-thirds 528/817 (64.6%) delayed or canceled the antenatal visits. Approximately half of them 410/817 (50.2%) used two kinds of personal protection equipments (PPEs) during hospital visits. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the influential factors for prenatal anxiety included previous children in the family, knowledge score, media trust, worry of contracting the COVID-19 infection and worry about getting infected with COVID-19 from the ultrasound probe antenatal care (ANC) schedule. Conclusion: Prenatal anxiety was prevalent among pregnant women in Wuhan during the outbreak of COVID-19. The current findings identified factors associated with the level of prenatal anxiety that could be targeted for psychological care.

Automated summary

The study found a high prevalence of prenatal anxiety among pregnant women in Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak. Factors such as knowledge score, media trust, and having previous children in the family were identified as important influences for prenatal anxiety. The COVID-19 epidemic significantly impacts the psychological well-being of pregnant women, highlighting the need for targeted psychological care and support.