The psychological impact and perception of COVID -19 pandemic on pregnant women presenting to a tertiary care hospital, KPK, Pakistan.

Purpose: To determine the psychological impact and perception of covid -19 pandemic on pregnant women presenting to a tertiary care hospital, KPK, Pakistan. Methodology: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted on pregnant women in the outpatient department of Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar from 1st February 2020 to 31st March 2021. All pregnant women (n=424) visiting gynae OPD who fulfilled the inclusion/exclusion criteria were included. The questionnaire was filled out by physicians for patients and the Kessel-10 scale was used to classify the anxiety. Findings: Fifty one 51% females fall in the 19-25 years age group. 54.5% were illiterate with most of the women (94.6%) being housewives. The majority of the 424 women in the study were multiparous (59%) and 59.1% presented in their third trimester. The highest number of patient women in the age group 19-25 years suffered mild distress. Moderate stress was found in 54 women. In all age groups, a total of 11 patients suffered severe psychological distress. 144 women reported having no stress.  Nulliparous women were 109 in total and most of them had either mild disorder (n=54) or no stress at all (n=48). the majority of ladies who were housewives stated that they have been mildly stressed (n=208) or not stressed at all (n=139). A total of 11 women had faced severe stress. 247 women had third-trimester pregnancies and most of them (n=129) had mild stress. Severe distress affected 8 of the third-trimester women and 3 of the 2nd-trimester women. Most women (71.9%) believed that elective Cesarian surgery is not better than vaginal delivery during the covid -19 pandemic. COVID-19 pandemic has created anxiety in more than half (53%) of pregnant women visiting OPDs. The literacy rate and occupational status of women had little effect on the occurrence of psychological distress. Recommendations: Strict SOPs must be observed in hospitals and pregnant women should receive counseling regarding their fears and anxiety from medical care-takers. More studies are needed to measure mental health challenges in pregnant and postpartum women, as well as the resilience and risk factors associated with beneficial outcomes, to attenuate the pandemics' long-term mental health impacts.