The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pregnant Women: A Qualitative Approach

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women are one of the special groups most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to analyze how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of pregnant women.METHOD: A descriptive phenomenological approach was employed to explore the experiences of 15 pregnant women. Data were gathered by using semi-structured interviews focusing on pregnant women's feelings, thoughts and behaviors. Word cloud analysis and content analysis were performed.FINDINGS: Data analysis revealed three main themes: emotions, hardships, and coping. Emotions were grouped into five categories: fear, anxiety, disappointment, loneliness, and regret. Hardships were grouped into two categories: physical and financial. Coping was grouped into four categories: social support, normalization, religious practices, and positive thinking. According to word cloud analysis, the most frequently mentioned words were pregnant, COVID-19, anxiety, fear, positive thinking, hardships, regret, stress, affect, and alone.CONCLUSIONS: Women experienced feelings of fear, anxiety, disappointment, loneliness, and regret in the prenatal period. They also faced physical and financial hardships and benefited from social sup-port, normalization, religious practices, and positive thinking to cope with these hardships.