Previously submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research (no longer under consideration since Oct 11, 2020)
Date Submitted: Apr 22, 2020
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Pregnancy in a Pandemic: Anxiety, Health Anxiety, Social Media and Mobile App Usage
ABSTRACT
Background:
Anxieties can be typical to pregnancy. In light of COVID-19, it is necessary to explore levels of general anxiety and health anxiety. Social media and mobile apps are often frequented by pregnant women, and these resources will be utilised further due to social distancing rules and pregnant women being categorised as a vulnerable demographic.
Objective:
This exploratory study aimed to understand the current levels of general and health anxiety in pregnant women and the positive and negative effects of social media usage, in general, and during the outbreak.
Methods:
A sample of 674 female participants completed an online questionnaire consisting of demographic, pregnancy-related questions, the GAD-7 and HAI. Qualitative questions explored social media and mobile app use for support in general and COVID-19 related. Mobile app usage was also explored. Quantitative data was analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 23 and qualitative data was coded and themed using Nvivo version 11 and analysed using an inductive, reflexive thematic analysis method.
Results:
The COVID-19 outbreak has increased levels of general anxiety and health anxiety in pregnant women. Of the sample, 633 (94%) agreed that the outbreak had increased their general anxiety 607 (90.1%) also reported increased health anxiety. This is due to several reasons, such as; changing healthcare provision, lack of research and misinformation. Social media and support groups are being utilised more frequently; however, these platforms have several positive and negative aspects.
Conclusions:
Pregnant women are experiencing increased self-reported levels of general anxiety and health anxiety. Social media and social media support groups can be effective tools to relieve general and health anxiety if pregnant women utilise them correctly.
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