<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Pregnancy is a vulnerable period of life for changes in physical and mental health, which could be exacerbated by COVID-19. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on health behaviour and emotional well-being among pregnant women in Latvia. The cross-sectional study included 269 women: pregnant women in the third trimester and women until the 7<sup>th</sup> day post-partum. The study was conducted between July and October 2020, performed by a trained interviewer. Information regarding demographic, anthropometric data, self-assessment of changes in nutritional habits, daily physical activities, and emotional well-being due to the COVID-19 pandemic was collected. 31.6% reported cooking at home more often and only 10.4% reported eating more often and/or larger portions, 23.2% were going on walks outdoors more often, 32.9% were feeling anxious, insecure about health of themselves and relatives, and 24.8% were lacking communication with friends and family. Latvian women were emotionally more affected than other nationalities (<italic>p</italic> = 0.015). Overall, women 30+ years of age were more often affected then women aged up to 30 years (<italic>p</italic> = 0.014). These results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic had notable impact on health behaviour and emotional well-being in pregnant women in Latvia, especially on women 30+ years of age, who may need more careful counselling.</p>
</abstract>

Pregnancy is a vulnerable period of life for changes in physical and mental health, which could be exacerbated by COVID-19. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on health behaviour and emotional well-being among pregnant women in Latvia. The cross-sectional study included 269 women: pregnant women in the third trimester and women until the 7th day post-partum. The study was conducted between July and October 2020, performed by a trained interviewer. Information regarding demographic, anthropometric data, self-assessment of changes in nutritional habits, daily physical activities, and emotional well-being due to the COVID-19 pandemic was collected. 31.6% reported cooking at home more often and only 10.4% reported eating more often and/or larger portions, 23.2% were going on walks outdoors more often, 32.9% were feeling anxious, insecure about health of themselves and relatives, and 24.8% were lacking communication with friends and family. Latvian women were emotionally more affected than other nationalities (p = 0.015). Overall, women 30+ years of age were more often affected then women aged up to 30 years (p = 0.014). These results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic had notable impact on health behaviour and emotional well-being in pregnant women in Latvia, especially on women 30+ years of age, who may need more careful counselling.

Changes in Health Behaviour and Emotional Well-Being of Pregnant Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latvia

Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital

Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Section B. Natural, Exact, and Applied Sciences.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Pregnancy is a vulnerable period of life for changes in physical and mental health, which could be exacerbated by COVID-19. The aim of this study was to assess...

Changes in Health Behaviour and Emotional Well-Being of Pregnant Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latvia

Published Online: Mar 03, 2022

Page range: 30 - 35

Received: Mar 31, 2021

Accepted: Jan 09, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/prolas-2022-0005

Keywords
post-partum, pregnancy, diet, physical activity, emotional response

© 2022 Roberta Rezgale et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Changes in Health Behaviour and Emotional Well-Being of Pregnant Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latvia

Published Online: Mar 03, 2022

Page range: 30 - 35

Received: Mar 31, 2021

Accepted: Jan 09, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/prolas-2022-0005

Keywordspost-partum, pregnancy, diet, physical activity, emotional response

© 2022 Roberta Rezgale et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
post-partum, pregnancy, diet, physical activity, emotional response