EXPECTATIVA E EXPERIÊNCIA DE PARTO: UM RECORTE SOBRE SAÚDE MENTAL EM TEMPOS DE COVID

Abstract

The perinatal period is permeated with expectations about childbirth and the experience of the pregnant woman with the baby, especially for primiparous women, who are experiencing for the first time the imminence of the birth of a child. De acordo com a literatura, é comum observar perturbações psicológicas como stress, medo, ansiedade e depressão durante o período perinatal e sobre estes distúrbios podem ser agravados por fatores e situações externas, como a Pandemia causada pelo Covid-19. As a strategy for prevention and assistance to these women, perinatal education can be used as a model of mental health care for pregnant women, this being the proposal of the line of research to which the study is linked. In this sense, this study aimed to propose an intervention with a mental training tool, based on a multimodal perinatal education program, which guarantees the replicability of the study at any time. A total of 104 primiparous pregnant women took part in the study. The variables that directly impact the experience of childbirth through the application of a pre and post-test after the online meetings were held, and we compared the data found after the intervention having the Covid-19 fear scale as a parameter to compare the results. To evaluate the participants regarding the impact of the program on fear, anxiety, depression, and stress, the statistical test Reliable Change Index (RCI) was used, in addition to the descriptive treatment of the data. As a main result, it was observed that the expectations created during the pandemic, influenced by fear and feeling of insecurity with this scenario, had a negative repercussion on the experience of childbirth. On the other hand, negative childbirth experiences explain part of the symptoms of anxiety and postpartum depression. As products of this study, 07 psychometric scales were developed for the Brazilian context that the scientific community may use to evaluate pregnant women and prepare care and assistance interventions during this gestational period. The main products resulting from this study were the creation of a scale and the validation of other pre-existing scales for the Brazilian context, namely: 1) Postpartum depression screening scale 7: A short version valid and reliable for both Portugal and Brazil; 2) Brazilian version of the postpartum depression screening scale -24; 3) COVID-19 Fear Scale - translation and validation into Brazilian Portuguese; 4) COVID-19 Fear Scale-Validation and adaptation for the Perinatal Period (this scale is unpublished); 5) Validity and reliability of the perinatal anxiety screening scale in a Brazilian sample of pregnant women; 6) Birth Expectations Questionnaire-a psychometric study with a sample from Brazil; 7) The Brazilian version of the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire - CEQ-2BR: Validation and reliability; 8) Profile of mood states-27: a valid and reliable measure of negative and positive affect for Brazilian pregnant women.