How mothers and their babies are coping during the COVID-19 pandemic is the focus of a new study by London-based researchers.
Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University scientists have teamed up to examine possible health impacts on mothers and babies born during the global crisis.
"This has been a stressful and pivotal time for everyone in the world, but we know the post-partum experience can greatly affect both the birthing person and their baby, in the short and long term,” said Dr. Genevieve Eastabrook, Lawson associate scientist and Western assistant professor. “We know perceived stress in the perinatal period may have a contribution to health later in life for the birthing person and their children in terms of overall cardiovascular and metabolic health, bonding experiences, and risk of mood disorders.”
Researchers hope to recruit 300 mothers to participate in the study. They will be asked to complete a 30-minute questionnaire roughly 6 to 12 weeks after giving birth. The survey focuses on perceived stress, postpartum depressive symptoms, perceived social support, the impact of COVID-19, health-care access, and breastfeeding.
From there, researchers will compare the questionnaire answers with each participants' medical records to look for associations between the various factors and pregnancy outcomes. Data from the study will then be compared to that of a national survey of Canadian mothers compiled in 2007.
"The unique aspect here is that we have a comparative group using a historic cohort to see whether or not there are differences in markers that increase risk of depression, perceived stress and lack of social support,” said Eastabrook, who is also an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC). “We will also look at some unique things from the pandemic, such as how the use of virtual care for antenatal, postpartum and baby care impacted people’s experiences.”
Researchers plan to use their findings to improve post-partum care for mothers and their babies.
Mothers, who have given birth at LHSC specifically during the pandemic, and want to participate in the study can email the Pregnancy Research Group at pregres@uwo.ca.