Is There a Difference Between Postpartum Depression and Mother-baby Bonding in Pregnant Women Who Had and Did Not Have COVID-19? A Comparative and Cross-sectional Study; [COVID-19 Geçiren ve Geçirmeyen Gebelerde Doğum Sonrası Depresyon ve Anne-bebek Bağlanması Arasında Fark Var mıdır? Karşılaştırmalı ve Kesitsel Bir Çalışma]

Objective: This study was conducted to examine the effect of being diagnosed with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) during pregnancy on postpartum depressive symptoms and infant-mother bonding. Method: This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in a city in southeastern Turkey. Using the purposeful sampling method, 210 postpartum women (106 had COVID during pregnancy, 104 did not) constituted the sample of the study. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews between 15 March and 30 May 2022. Data were collected using the mother introductory information form, mother-infant bonding scale, and Edinburgh postnatal depression scale. The obtained data were analyzed using percentages, means, t-test, chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, and regression analysis. Results: According to the findings of the study, a significant relationship has been observed between contracting COVID-19 and both the birth weight of the baby and the week of birth. Moreover, having COVID-19 negatively affected infant-mother bonding and increased postpartum depressive symptoms. Conclusion: According to the findings of the study: it was observed that the babies of mothers who had COVID-19 had lower birth weight, were born before the full term, mother-baby bonding was lower, and postpartum depression was higher in mothers.