HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE OF PREGNANT WOMEN DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Pregnancy causes a partial decrease in immunity due to physiological changes related to
pregnancy so that pregnant women are more susceptible to viral infections. The COVID-19
pandemic has changed people's habits, including pregnant women. These changes affect the
quality of life-related to physical and mental health. The objective of this study was to explore
the health-related quality of life among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic
conducted between June - July in Tapian Dolok subdistrict, Simalungun, North Sumatra,
Indonesia. This research uses the descriptive method. The sample of this study was pregnant
women 18-45 years, all of the gestational ages, and participants were read and speak well in
Indonesian fluently. The sample size of this study was 87 participants. Simple random sampling
was used in this research. Health-related quality of life was measured using a health survey
short form 12 (SF-12) questionnaire. To calculate the PCS and MCS scores using a web-based
scoring tool (www.orthotoolkit.com/sf12/). The mean age of respondents was 27.54±4.89
years, the mean gestational age was 25.89±8.09 weeks, multigravida was 71.3%, and higher
education level was 74.71%. The mean Physical Component Score (PCS) was 40.74±7.04 and
Mental Component Score (MCS) 49.93±8.77. It needs to be proper education about Covid-19
for pregnant women to improve their physical and mental health.
Keywords: COVID-19; health-related quality of life; pregnant women