Pandemic-related pregnancy stress and anxiety among women pregnant during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

Objective: Prenatal maternal stress and anxiety, whether at times of disaster or not, are well-established risk factors for preterm birth, low birthweight, and infant health problems and may have long-lasting effects on the offspring. 1 , 2  Approximately 21% to 25% of women experience prenatal anxiety symptoms (eg, excessive worry, nervousness, agitation). Policies to decrease the spread of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by sheltering in place and social distancing and increases in unemployment, poverty, and intimate partner violence have dramatically changed the daily lives of pregnant women and presumably heightened maternal stress and subsequent anxiety. 3  The COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need to examine the extent to which pandemic-related stress predicts heightened anxiety in women pregnant during this crisis.