{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T06:57:10Z","timestamp":1769151430748,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,23]],"date-time":"2021-07-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1626998400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"H.W. &amp;.J. Hector Foundation","award":["n.a."],"award-info":[{"award-number":["n.a."]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Limited research exists on pregnant women\u2019s knowledge, attitudes, and behavior concerning COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa. We performed a cross-sectional study among 648 pregnant women in Fort Portal, Uganda, after the first lockdown starting in June 2020. Structured interviews were conducted at three different facilities during routine antenatal care, assessing sociodemographic background, knowledge of COVID-19, prevention behavior adherence, and psycho-emotional stress levels. We performed descriptive analyses and examined associated factors using multivariable logistic regression. In Fort Portal Region, 32.8% of pregnant women had a higher knowledge regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, while all women at least heard of COVID-19. 88.6% of the women showed low self-reported prevention behavior adherence. More than one third of the pregnant women experienced high psycho-emotional stress related to the pandemic (39.8%). The odds for psycho-emotional stress were increased among the age group 21\u201330 years (AOR 1.97; 95% CI 1.18\u20133.35) compared to women under the age of 21, and decreased in single or divorced women compared to women in partnerships (AOR 0.42; 0.22\u20130.77) and in women having less COVID-19-related knowledge (AOR 0.40; 0.27\u20130.58). In conclusion, prevention behavior adherence seemed challenging, and psycho-emotional stress was ubiquitous among our cohort. To avoid adverse consequences in maternal and neonatal health, campaigns for hygiene but also women\u2019s emotional state should be a major focus of community healthcare in exceptional times such as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18157817","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,23]],"date-time":"2021-07-23T10:31:44Z","timestamp":1627036304000},"page":"7817","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Repercussions of the COVID-19 Response in Pregnant Women in Western Uganda: Knowledge, Behavior, and Emotional State after the First Lockdown in 2020"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Stefanie","family":"Theuring","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charit\u00e9-Universit\u00e4tsmedizin, Corporate Member of Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin, Humboldt-Universit\u00e4t zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2292-4282","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Agnes","family":"Kengonzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Sciences, Mountains of the Moon University, Fort Portal P.O. Box 837, Uganda"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lorena","family":"Hafermann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biometry and Clinical Epidemiology, Charit\u00e9-Universit\u00e4tsmedizin, Corporate Member of Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin, Humboldt-Universit\u00e4t zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 10117 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2384-7303","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carolin","family":"Herrmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biometry and Clinical Epidemiology, Charit\u00e9-Universit\u00e4tsmedizin, Corporate Member of Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin, Humboldt-Universit\u00e4t zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 10117 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0354-9571","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Steven Ndugwa","family":"Kabwama","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, Makerere University,  Kampala 7062, Uganda"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"John","family":"Rubaihayo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Sciences, Mountains of the Moon University, Fort Portal P.O. Box 837, Uganda"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"WHO (2021, May 05). Addendum to Fact Sheet 15 on National Implementation Measures for the International Health Regulations 2005: COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under the IHR. Available online: https:\/\/extranet.who.int\/sph\/sites\/default\/files\/document-library\/document\/FS15A_IHR_COVID19_EN_MAY_2020.pdf."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"233","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijid.2020.02.049","article-title":"Is Africa prepared for tackling the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic. Lessons from past outbreaks, ongoing pan-African public health efforts, and implications for the future","volume":"93","author":"Kapata","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Infect. 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