Pregnant in a Pandemic: Connecting Perceptions of Uplifts and Hassles to Mental Health

How women experience pregnancy as uplifting or a hassle is related to their mental and physical health and birth outcomes. Pregnancy during a pandemic introduces new hassles, but may offer benefits that could affect how women perceive their pregnancy. Surveying 118 ethnically and racially diverse pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health psychology 2023-07, Vol.28 (8), p.711-725
Main Authors: Reich, Stephanie M, Tulagan, Nestor, Dahlin, Melissa, Labaff, Sina, Dutt, Nikil, Rahmani, Amir
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Emotions
Female
Health status
Humans
Loneliness
Mental Health
Pandemics
Positive emotions
Pregnancy
Pregnant Women
Stress, Psychological - psychology
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Summary:How women experience pregnancy as uplifting or a hassle is related to their mental and physical health and birth outcomes. Pregnancy during a pandemic introduces new hassles, but may offer benefits that could affect how women perceive their pregnancy. Surveying 118 ethnically and racially diverse pregnant women, we explore (1) women’s traditional and pandemic-related pregnancy uplifts and hassles and (2) how these experiences of pregnancy relate to their feelings of loneliness, positivity, depression, and anxiety. Regressions show that women who experience more intense feelings of uplifts than hassles also feel more positive, less lonely, and have better mental health. Findings suggest that focusing on positive aspects of being pregnant, in general and during a pandemic, might be beneficial for pregnant women’s mental health.
ISSN:1359-1053
1461-7277
DOI:10.1177/13591053221120115