Dear Community,
As we move back into lockdown in the San Francisco Bay Area, many of us feel both troubled and hopeful. We have vaccines on the way, but the COVID-19 infection rate is at extremely high levels. There is some light at the end of the tunnel, but the burden of the pandemic is being felt by everyone -- especially in low-income communities and in communities of color.
Many of us are especially troubled by some of the data that continues to show that pregnant people with the virus are at increased risk of preterm birth. Also, little data is out there on how pandemic-related stress in those with and without infection is impacting pregnant people and pregnancy outcomes.
We are starting to learn about these patterns in the HOPE COVID-19 study. One big take-away is around the enormous levels of stress that mothers are currently experiencing. For example, when asked how often they feel "Nervous, anxious, or "on edge", 60.2% of all participants in the HOPE COVID-19 said they felt this way "several days per week" (see Figure). At the same time, we are learning a lot about how mothers are coping with the pandemic and about where they are finding support. For example, 93% of HOPE COVID-19 participants reported having "several people I can talk to when I am feeling lonely."
Study Stats
- 341 pregnant people from around the world have contacted us about participating in the study
- 234 have consented to participate
- 145 have completed their first survey
- 55 participants have had their babies
Learning about the health of mothers and babies, and about how mothers are experiencing the pandemic is an incredible gift. We hope what we learn will help inform public health and clinical strategies aimed at lessening the impact of the pandemic on pregnant people and their babies. We also hope that these efforts will inform what we know about psycho-social and other biological factors that contribute to an increased or decreased risk of adverse pregnancy and infant outcomes in pregnant people experiencing high levels of stress.
We are thrilled to announce that we are now able to offer participation to Spanish speaking mothers. We are also now able to offer compensation to participants who live in the Bay Area, Fresno and San Diego counties (up to $175 over the course of the study). We expect to be able to offer this compensation to mothers across California by the end of 2020. We are working to expand getting compensation to pregnant participants even more widely - we have a number of grants making their way through review. If you have an idea about a grant or funder you think we should reach out to please let us know.
Please share this information with friends, family members, colleagues and/or organizations who you feel may be interested in the study or be able able to reach pregnant people who may be interested
Warmly,
Laura Jelliffe-Pawlowski
HOPE COVID-19 Principal Investigator
