Physical Activity Level, Stress Level, Sleep Quality in Pregnant Women During Covid-19 Quarantine

A novel coronavirus (COVID-19) first reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The COVID-19
has spread rapidly and posed a health threat of unknown magnitude globally. World Health
Organization (WHO) declared the new coronavirus outbreak is a public health emergency of
international concern on January 30, 2020 (1).

The first COVID-19 case was detected in Turkey on March 11, 2020, treatment-resistant cases
of pneumonia spread rapidly. Swift and protective measures have been taken to prevent the
spread of COVID-19. The protective measures included early diagnosis, public health
quarantine or physical isolation and symptomatic monitoring of contacts as well as confirmed
and suspended cases.

Quarantine or physical isolation, who may have or have been infected by a contagious disease
to control or limit contamination. Modern quarantine strategies include short- and
medium-term deadlocks, voluntary home curfew, cancellation of planned social and public
events, restrictions on the assembly of groups of people, closure of public transport systems
and other travel bans. Universities were closed during the spring semester and various
institutions interrupted their activities. In addition, people were asked to stay home as
much as possible to avoid unnecessary social contact. Pregnant women should take the same
precautions to avoid COVID-19 infection as other people.

Going early and regularly for prenatal care can help moms-to-be (and their babies) stay
healthy. Regular care lets doctors find and deal with any problems as soon as possible. It's
important to start prenatal care as early as possible - ideally, before a woman even becomes
pregnant. However, due to the increasing number of COVID-19 patients in Turkey, it is not
recommended to go to the hospitals unless it is obligatory. This is thought to be another
reason for anxiety in pregnant women, in addition to the hours spent at home for social
isolation. Moreover, the uncertainty of the hospital conditions can be thought as another
cause of stress among pregnant women in the last trimester.

Additionally, it is obvious that physical activity during pregnancy is beneficial for both
the woman and foetus. There is some evidence that physical activity during pregnancy is
associated with a reduced length of labor and delivery complications. Taking a brisk walk,
swimming and water workouts, low-impact aerobics classes, Yoga and Pilates classes are really
preferred. However, it is not possible to do such group exercises and outdoor sports due to
social isolation and it can affect the physical activity level of the pregnant women.

According to these informations, we hypothesized the followings:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the sleep quality of pregnant women decreases. During the
COVID-19 epidemic, the stress level of pregnant women increases. During the COVID-19
epidemic, the level of physical activity of pregnant women decreases.

Aims:

The aim of the study is to determine the sleep quality, stress level and physical activity
level of pregnant women who maintain the home quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Sleep-wake hours of the pregnant women participating in our study will be questioned by
the questionnaire prepated by the study team.

2. Pain conditions of the participants of our study will be questioned with the questions
prepared and "Visual Analogue Scale-VAS",

3. The physical activity level of the pregnant women participating in the study will be
evaluated with the "International Physical Activity Questionnaire -IPAQ".

4. Since the pregnancy itself and the lifestyle after the pandemic is thought to cause
sleep disorder and stress, the stress level will be evaluated with the "Perceived Stress
Scale" and the sleep quality will be evaluated with the "Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index".