Knowledge, Anxiety and Fear of the Unknown among Pregnant Women during COVID-19 Pandemic

Background:  The aim of this study was to determine pregnant women’s knowledge of the COVID-19 and their anxiety and fear of the unknown. Methods: This online cross-sectional study was conducted in March and April 2020  on Iranian pregnant women visiting comprehensive healthcare centers affiliated with the Gonabad University of Medical Sciences. Participants were selected using a stratified random sampling strategy among pregnant women who had consented to participate, had a Telegram or WhatsApp account or phone number, and had no history of pregnancy complications. Demographic questionnaire, Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory,  Fearing the Unknown questionnaire, and Uncertainty scale were used to collect data. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16.0 using simple and multiple linear regression model analyses. Results: A total of 190 pregnant women were included in the analysis. The mean score for knowledge of COVID-19 was 8.82±1.72. The knowledge of 71.1% of participants was found to be moderate. The mean score for fearing the unknown was 36.2±9.1. The mean score for the state anxiety about COVID-19 incidence in pregnant women was 47.6±10.2. The results revealed that 65.3% of the participants had moderate level of anxiety. Multiple regression analysis showed an increase of 0.16 (p=.029) in the fearing the unknown score for each week increase in the gestational age. Similarly, the anxiety was increased for 0.56 (p<.001) for each unit of increase in fearing the unknown. Moreover, the results showed that the anxiety of people using Telegram or WhatsApp was 3.44 units more than others (p<.018) Conclusions: The findings showed that the pregnant women’s knowledge was moderate at the time of research. However, the higher age of pregnancy, the fear of unknown and sources of knowledge showed to be associated with anxiety. This would point to the essentiality of increasing supportive programs also, there is a need for screening pregnant women to prevent the adverse effects of anxiety.