Obstetrics and Gynecology
KAVITHA NAGANDLA; Keeran Rajandram; Khaisro Ali Shah; Kathy Anne Rani A/P Arulraj; Lee Huang Ming; Joanne Wong Mei Jye
Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 23 January 2024
Abstract
Background & Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to healthcare systems worldwide, leading to changes in healthcare practices, including perinatal care delivery. As pregnant women are considered a vulnerable population, perinatal mental health has become a significant ...
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Background & Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to healthcare systems worldwide, leading to changes in healthcare practices, including perinatal care delivery. As pregnant women are considered a vulnerable population, perinatal mental health has become a significant concern during the pandemic. This systematic review aims to synthesise the current scientific evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal mental health and its associated risk factors.
Materials & Methods: The review used a structured process based on JBI and PICOS strategy and searched three databases for studies published between July 2020 to December 2022 that measured specific mental health outcomes using validated measures. The PRISMA guideline was followed for the study selection process.
Results: Among the total 45 articles that have been included, the prevalence of depression and anxiety was found to be moderate to severe in pregnant and/or postpartum women during the pandemic, with a significantly higher level compared to prior to the pandemic. Additionally, pregnant and/or postpartum who tested positive for COVID-19 were more vulnerable to anxiety and depression. Furthermore, perinatal women with pre-existing mental illness showed further deterioration during the pandemic, and lastly, pregnant and/or postpartum women had higher levels of anxiety and depression compared to non-pregnant women.
Conclusions: This systematic review finds a significant increase in depression and anxiety among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic, with risk factors such as unemployment and poor social support. Healthcare professionals should establish treatment plans to prevent adverse mental outcomes for this vulnerable population.
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Nasibeh Roozbeh; Sepideh Hajian; Soodabeh Darvish; Zahra Kiani
Volume 7, Issue 3 , January and February 2022, , Pages 131-143
Abstract
Background & Objective: Given the significant role of low birth weight (LBW) in infant death and disability and relevant childhood diseases, the present systematic review was conducted to determine the factors affecting newborns’ birth weight in Iran.Materials & Methods: This study ...
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Background & Objective: Given the significant role of low birth weight (LBW) in infant death and disability and relevant childhood diseases, the present systematic review was conducted to determine the factors affecting newborns’ birth weight in Iran.Materials & Methods: This study systematically reviewed all the observational studies carried out in Iran between 1990 and 2021 (retrieval date: April 28, 2021) in four steps and through searches in Persian databases (including Magiran, SID, and IranDoc) and English databases (including Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Sciences, Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus). All the relevant articles were searched by two researchers separately and collected using research keywords, Boolean operators, and a combination of relevant tags depending on the type of database. The quality of the articles was evaluated with 22-item Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) and Ottawa checklists, respectively.Results: Of the 251 articles collected, 31 met the study inclusion criteria. Variables such as the mother’s age (35%), body mass index (BMI) (25%), preterm childbirth, and diagnosis with a maternal chronic disease (25%) were found to be the most common causes of LBW in the reviewed studies, by order of prevalence.Conclusion: Based on the results of this review study and given that many of the known risk factors of LBW are preventable, the timely diagnosis, proper treatment, and follow-up of women at risk can prevent the birth of LBW infants.
Sedigheh Abdollahpour; Talat Khadivzadeh
Volume 4, Issue 3 , September and October 2019, , Pages 86-92
Abstract
Background & Objective: Traumatic childbirth, followed by postpartum stress, imposes many psychological consequences on women and their families. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of traumatic childbirth and postpartum post-traumatic stress in Iran using a systematic ...
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Background & Objective: Traumatic childbirth, followed by postpartum stress, imposes many psychological consequences on women and their families. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of traumatic childbirth and postpartum post-traumatic stress in Iran using a systematic review.
Materials & Methods: In this review, ISI, PubMed, Scopus, SID, Iranmedex, IranDoc, Magiran, and Google Scholar databases were searched to find relevant studies, by looking for the following keywords, i.e., prevalence, traumatic childbirth, post-traumatic stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, delivery or birth, Iran, and their English equivalents, in Persian and English-language journals published from 1981 to November 2018. Data were analyzed by the meta-analysis method using a random-effects model and the studies’ heterogeneity was calculated by the I2 index.
Results: Of a total of 1420 studies, 8 descriptive studies carried out from 2010 to 2017 were finally included after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Among the 800 samples studied, the overall prevalence of traumatic childbirth was 51.3% and the overall prevalence of post-traumatic stress was 29.1% among the total of 2687 samples studied.
Conclusion: The prevalence of traumatic childbirth and post-traumatic stress is high in Iran; hence, it is necessary to carry out further studies to understand this important issue, so that more attention can be paid to mothers’ psychological problems to plan and make policies to maintain and improve their health in the postpartum period.
