Anxiety states and knowledge of COVID-19 among pregnant women during the pandemic in Turkey – a cross-sectional study

Introduction. Infectious outbreaks have negative effects not only on the physical health of the society but also on the mental health. Aim. To evaluate the anxiety states and knowledge of COVID-19 during the pandemic in pregnant women. Material and methods. Cross-sectional study conducted in a university hospital in Turkey. A total of 199 pregnant women were included in the study. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), two questionnaires to evaluate the knowledge about COVID-19, and COVID-19-related anxiety were applied to all the women. Results. The highest level of COVID-19-related anxieties were about their spouses or newborns contracting COVID-19, effects of drugs on fetus and contracting COVID-19 during delivery. There was a negative correlation between gestational week and the questionnaire of COVID-19-related anxieties (r=-0.152, p=0.037). STAI total score was 76.48±14.11, and STAI-T scores (42.39±7.66) were higher than STAI-S scores (34.09±8.77). Although their general knowledge about the disease was relatively good, their level of knowledge on issues that pertained specifically to pregnancy was low. Conclusion. These findings indicated more than four months had passed since the pandemic came to the country but, pregnant women were very worried and did not have enough information about the disease.