Early pregnancy mood before and during COVID-19 community restrictions among women of low socioeconomic status in New Yo
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SHORT COMMUNICATION
Early pregnancy mood before and during COVID-19 community restrictions among women of low socioeconomic status in New York City: a preliminary study Michael E. Silverman 1
&
Cathryn Medeiros 2 & Laudy Burgos 3
Received: 27 May 2020 / Accepted: 18 August 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract To explore the mental health consequences of COVID-19-related social restrictions on pregnant women living in low socioeconomic status. Prenatal women appearing at the Mount Sinai Hospital Ambulatory Practice were screened for mood symptomatology from February 2, 2020, through June 12, 2020. An improvement in prenatal mood was observed following social restrictions compared to before the pandemic. The impact of COVID-19 remains largely unknown and may be useful towards understanding the needs of pregnant women living in poverty. Keywords COVID19 . Prenatal . Mood . Stress . Minority . Socioeconomic status
Introduction Addressing the mental health needs of pregnant women during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an increasing concern among obstetricians and mental health clinicians. According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll (2020), the majority of adults report their lives have been disrupted by the virus (84%), and nearly half (45%) report their mental health has been negatively impacted. While minority women living in low socioeconomic status (SES) are among the most vulnerable for mood disruption during pregnancy (Shakeel et al. 2015), how the COVID-19 pandemic, and accompanying social restrictions, may impact this population remains unknown. This study, therefore, aimed to explore how social restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic may be impacting prenatal women living in low SES. The results of
* Michael E. Silverman [email protected] 1
Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY, USA
2
Department of Social Work Services, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY, USA
3
Department of Social Work Services, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY, USA
this exploration will help better understand the needs of women in poverty, both during the pandemic and thereafter.
Methods In 2011, the Mount Sinai Hospital Obstetrics & Gynecology Ambulatory Practice initiated the first large-scale universal symptomatology screening for perinatal mood utilizing clinical decision support tied into electronic medical records (Loudon et al. 2016). In February of 2020, to further improve clinical services, the assessment of mood at a woman’s first prenatal visit was added.
Sample characteristics The study cohort consisted of the entire population of women who appeared for their first prenatal appointment at the Mount Sinai Hospital OB/GYN Ambulatory Practice between February 3, 2020, and June 12, 2020. The Ambulatory Practice serves a population of primarily Hispanic and African-American minority women (90%) who reside in the inner c
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