Emotional responses of pregnant women and postpartum women during dangerous military events
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15574/HW.2025.4(179).2327Keywords:
pregnant women, postpartum women, unborn children, dangerous military events, emotional responsesAbstract
Aim - to study the emotional reactions of pregnant women and postpartum women while staying under conditions of dangerous military events (intensive missile attacks, flights of unmanned aerial vehicles, etc.) in order to optimize their medical and psychological support in wartime conditions.
Materials and methods. An anonymous survey was conducted among 138 women (98 pregnant women at 22-41 weeks of gestation and 40 postpartum women) regarding their emotional experiences during periods of active shelling of the city of Odesa and nearby settlements in May-June 2025. The survey was carried out using an anonymous questionnaire. Differences between groups were assessed using Pearson’s χ2 test; Fisher’s exact test was applied for small sample sizes. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 26 software (IBM, USA).
Results. It was found that the predominant cohort of patients experienced intense fear (91.0%). At the same time, the responses of the largest number of women indicated an adaptive emotional reaction to fear (58.0%). Fewer patients described their emotional state as a persistent feeling of fear (33.0%). A minimal number of respondents reported no feeling of fear (9.0%). These emotional reactions during periods of danger differed significantly (p<0.001) but did not depend on gestational age (p>0.05). The feeling of fear motivated 83.3% of the surveyed women to protect their lives by moving to a safe place (p<0.001). This indicator also did not show statistically significant differences across different gestational ages (p>0.05).
Conclusions. During dangerous military events, the vast majority of surveyed pregnant and postpartum women experienced a strong emotion of fear; most of them adapted to this feeling over time and moved to a safe place. Emotional and behavioral responses did not depend on gestational age or the day of the postpartum period.
The author declares no conflict of interest.
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