Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and first lockdown on pregnancy
monitoring in France: the COVIMATER cross-sectional study
Abstract
Objective To study the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the first
lockdown in France on voluntary changes by pregnant women in the medical
monitoring of their pregnancy. Study population Adult (>18
years old) pregnant women during the first lockdown (March-May 2020),
living in France, and participating in an access panel of internet
users. Design and Settings A cross-sectional study was conducted in July
2020 using a web-questionnaire completed by 500 pregnant women selected
by quotas sampling (age group, socio-professional category, region of
residence at the time of the lockdown, and parity). Methods A robust
variance Poisson regression model was used to estimate adjusted
prevalence ratios (aPRs). A manual stepwise descending approach was
applied to obtain the final model. Main Outcome Measures Voluntary
postponement or foregoing of pregnancy monitoring. Results Almost one
women of five (23.4%) reported having voluntarily postponed or foregone
at least one consultation or pregnancy check-up during the lockdown.
Women who were professionally inactive (aPR=1.98,
CI95%[1.24-3.16]), who had experienced serious disputes or violence
during the lockdown (1.47, [1.00-2.16]), who felt they received
little or no support (1.71, [1.07-2.71]), and those who changed
health professionals during the lockdown (1.57, [1.04-2.36]) were
all more likely to have voluntarily changed their pregnancy monitoring.
Higher level of worry about the pandemic was associated with a lower
probability of voluntarily changing pregnancy monitoring (0.66, [0.46
-0.96]). Conclusions Our results can guide prevention and support
policies for pregnant women in the current and future pandemics.
Financing Santé publique France