Abstract
Background: Due to the unpleasant consequences of pregnant women’s depression and anxiety on mothers and fetuses, the present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of pregnant women’s depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: International databases, including Cochrane, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, in addition to Google Scholar were browsed until November 11th, 2022. All studies that investigated the prevalence of depression and anxiety in pregnant women during the pandemic were introduced into the present study. Studies that had used non-random sampling techniques, case reports, studies that had not offered the required information for data analysis, studies with low quality, and the studies that had estimated the prevalence of depression and anxiety after childbearing were eliminated. The Q Cochrane Test and the I2 index were utilized to investigate the heterogeneity of the studies. The data were analyzed using STATA14 at p<0.05. Results: A total of 27 articles conducted on 44573 participants were investigated, and the results showed that the prevalence of depression and anxiety in pregnant women during the spread of the coronavirus was 27% and 25%, respectively. Moreover, the prevalence of mild, moderate, and major depression in the participants was 23%, 11%, and 3%, respectively. Finally, the prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe anxiety was 20%, 14%, and 5%, respectively. Conclusion: Almost one out of every three pregnant women suffers from pregnancy depression, and one out of every four suffers from some degree of anxiety.