Maternal depression and anxiety has worsened during Covid pandemic.

Pregnant women have experienced excessive stress during this Covid pandemic. As a result pregnancy outcomes have been adverse. There is reduced access to care for them during this pandemic unfortunately. Pregnant women's anxiety was consistently shown to have an increase during the pandemic and healthcare providers around the world have reported reduced attendance for routine and unscheduled pregnancy care. One of the reasons is that women are more concerned about the risk of acquiring COVID-19 in healthcare settings while pregnant. Another reason for women not seeking care when pregnant has been the governments advice to stay at home, reduced public transport availability during Covid and reduced childcare access during lockdowns.

Other alarming trends have been an increase in intimate partner violence during the pandemic, a rise in unemployment among women. Due to school closures during the lockdown a great burden of childcare responsibilities has fallen on women. As a result of all these stressors, women are more likely to be depressed during pregnancy as well after the birth of a child. It is important that women recognize the symptoms of depression and get help. Untreated depression can linger on for years. Depression not only affects the mother but it affects negatively the maternal bond between mother and child as well. Psychiatrists like me are providing telemedicine appointments which makes it a little bit easier to see a psychiatrist and get treatment for depression without leaving the comfort of your home.