Good Practices in Perinatal Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Report from Task-Force RISEUP-PPD COVID-19

state of women during pregnancy, they are at increased risk of suffering issues with both their physical and mental health (Liu et al., 2020). It is estimated that 1 in 5 women develop a mental health problem in the perinatal period (Hahn-Holbrook et al., 2018; World Health Organization, 2015), with depression and anxiety among the most prevalent conditions (Shorey et al., 2018). Importantly, these conditions have long lasting adverse effects on women and their babies, and place a heavy burden on families and society as a whole (Bauer et al., 2014; Gavin et al., 2005). Conditions such as extreme stress, conflict situations, emergencies, and natural disasters can increase the risk of developing specific mental illnesses (World Health Organization, 2016). The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), declared a global pandemic on March 11 by the World Health Organization, is currently cited as a significant cause of stress and anxiety for pregnant and postpartum women (PPW) around the world (Chen et al., 2020), taking into account that these women constitute one of the most vulnerable populations in the world. Although formal evidence about the perinatal aspects of COVID-19 remains scarce, recent clinical data suggest that the impact on physical health is not as negative as previously thought (Mullins et al., 2020). Pregnant women and newborns are not at increased risk of getting infected or having worse symptoms or consequences than the general population (Chen et al., 2020). However, the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak and the imposed social confinement measures are particularly challenging for PPW and may impact their psychological well-being. In addition to the expected concerns about their own health, risk of infection and transmission of the virus to the baby, sudden changes in perinatal healthcare (e.g., modifications of scheduled appointments, restrictions on the partner’s presence during childbirth and postnatal visitation) would likely contribute to increased psychological distress. Taking into account the aforementioned reasons, the RiseupPPD project “Research Innovation and Sustainable Pan-European Network in Peripartum Depression Disorder” (Cost Action 18138), founded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union, decided to create the “Perinatal Mental Health and COVID-19 epidemic” task force to promote best practices in maternal mental health that may mitigate the impact of COVID-19 management on women’s mental health. Within this framework, we provide a brief review on a) impacts of the pandemic and confinement during COVID-19 lockdown on PPW and b) characteristics of the women who are most vulnerable to the psychological impact of COVID-19. Based on this review, we recommend good psychological practices and points to consider in conducting research that could be implemented to mitigate the negative consequences of such a pandemic.