COVID-19 Pandemic Affects Postpartum Mental Health

COVID-19 pandemic worsens the postpartum mother's prime concern about the health and development of her child including worries about their child contracting the virus, social development of the child spending most of the year during a critical developmental period in isolation and reduced opportunities for learning through music or sports due to restrictions.

even a new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) shows that Mental health visits for new mothers were 30% higher during the COVID-19 pandemic than before the pandemic, particularly in the first 3 months after giving birth.

‘Postpartum women require special care during COVID-19 pandemic.’

"Increased visit rates began in March 2020, although the state of emergency was declared only midway through the month, suggesting that distress related to the pandemic translated into an increased need for care very quickly," writes Dr. Simone Vigod, chief of psychiatry, senior scientist and interim vice president of academics at Women's College Hospital (WCH), and senior adjunct scientist at ICES in Toronto, Ontario, with coauthors.

Researchers looked at mental health visits by 137,609 people in Ontario during the postpartum period (from date of birth to 365 days after) from March through November 2020 and collected data on age, number of children, neighbourhood income based on postal codes, neighbourhood ethnic diversity and region of residence based on the province's 34 public health units.

84.8% of postpartum mental health visits were conducted virtually during the pandemic period removes health support barriers like the need to travel, find childcare for older children, or manage erratic schedules enables more people to seek care.

Generally, postpartum women are more vulnerable to mental disorders compared with other population groups is worsened under pandemic conditions so they need additional screening with focus on high-risk groups, monitor waiting lists for care and creative solutions to expand system capacity for healthy mental well-being.



Source: Medindia