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Title: Pregnant in a Pandemic: Connecting Perceptions of Uplifts and Hassles to Mental Health

How women experience pregnancy as uplifting or a hassle is related to their mental and physical health and birth outcomes. Pregnancy during a pandemic introduces new hassles, but may offer benefits that could affect how women perceive their pregnancy. Surveying 118 ethnically and racially diverse pregnant women, we explore (1) women’s traditional and pandemic-related pregnancy uplifts and hassles and (2) how these experiences of pregnancy relate to their feelings of loneliness, positivity, depression, and anxiety. Regressions show that women who experience more intense feelings of uplifts than hassles also feel more positive, less lonely, and have better mental health. Findings suggest that focusing on positive aspects of being pregnant, in general and during a pandemic, might be beneficial for pregnant women’s mental health.

 
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Award ID(s):
1831918
NSF-PAR ID:
10370321
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
SAGE Publications
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of Health Psychology
ISSN:
1359-1053
Page Range / eLocation ID:
Article No. 135910532211201
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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