COVID-19 and Obstetrical Care: Coping With New Stress

Objective Our study aimed to assess the mental health outcomes and coping strategies among healthcare workers (HCWs) in an already over-burdened maternity ward and labour room during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods This cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted using Google Forms (Google LLC, Mountain View, CA), which included demographic characteristics, perceived stressors, and validated scales: the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 Items (DASS-21), Insomnia Severity Index, and the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (Brief COPE) scale. The results were evaluated and compared among COVID-19 caregivers and other HCWs. Results A total of 184 participants were included in the study, out of which 112 (60.9%) were COVID-19 caregivers. Overall, HCWs managing COVID-19 patients experienced significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. They often adopted an avoidant coping style (p-value: 0.006). The results of binary logistic regression analysis revealed that living with family and perceiving multiple stressors appeared to be associated with increased risk of anxiety while being a COVID-19 caregiver and appeared to be a risk factor for stress. Avoidant coping was found to be associated with insomnia while approach coping was less associated with anxiety. The most prevalent stressor among HCWs at our institute was distancing from family and friends (62%) followed by fear of getting infected (51.1%). Compared to other HCWs, the stressors perceived in significantly higher proportion by COVID-19 caregivers included distancing from family and friends (p-value: 0.003), scarcity of workforce (p-value: 0.005), and dealing with non-cooperative patients (p-value: <0.001). Conclusion We would request the immediate attention of the concerned authorities to implement interventions to buffer the impact of COVID-19 in the already stressed-out maternity wards and labour rooms.