Pre-COVID-19 Profiles
A total of three maternal mental health profiles were identified prior to COVID-19: (1) Below Clinical Concern, (2) Stressed, Approaching Clinical Concern, and (3) Clinically Depressed and Highly Stressed (Figure 1).
Below Clinical Concern (Profile One). The largest percentage of mothers were in the mental health profile identified as below clinical concern prior to COVID (77.7%). These mothers have been identified as having the lowest anxiety, depression, and stress scores across all other profiles.
Stressed, Approaching Clinical Concern (Profile Two). This profile was comprised of 16.2% of the mothers in this study. Mothers in this profile were below the clinical cut offs of anxiety and depression, although they had higher scores than the below clinical concern profile. Notably, the stress scores of mothers in this profile were slightly higher than the average Canadian mother’s stress scores, prior to COVID-19.
Clinically Depressed and Highly Stressed (Profile Three). There were the fewest mothers identified in this profile (6.5%). The mothers identified in this profile were clinically depressed and had stress scores double the average Canadian mother.