Table 3.

Pandemic-Specific Concerns That Could Elevate Childbearing Women’s Risks for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders

•Abrupt changes in relationships with clinicians ○Wearing of masks and personal protective equipment ○Inability to read provider’s facial expressions ○Difficulty understanding speech without the aid of lip reading ○Difficulty breathing or feeling claustrophobic while wearing a mask ○Transition to telemedicine visits (Thapa et al., 2020) •Social isolation during pregnancy, at delivery, and during the postpartum period (Thapa et al., 2020) ○Loss of usual support systems ○Restrictions on labor room visitors •Fear that they or their infants could contract the virus (Zeng et al., 2020) •Fear that they could be separated from their infants (Rich, 2020) •Reduced options when choosing birth preferences, leading to feelings of powerlessness (Rich, 2020) •Shorter hospital stays, which may leave some women both physically and emotionally unprepared for the challenges that lie ahead •General sense of malaise of navigating pregnancy during a pandemic