Women's Reproductive Choices and Mental Health During Pregnancy and After Birth in Wartime Ukraine

NCT07551934 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: 26ГФ016-012025.07/0191
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 328
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The goal of this observational study is to learn how war affects reproductive decisions and perinatal mental health in Ukrainian women. The main questions it aims to answer are: (1) how are wartime stress and trauma related to women's decisions about pregnancy and childbirth?; (2) what mental health symptoms and psychological difficulties are experienced during the perinatal period under wartime conditions? (3) which demographic, obstetric, and psychological factors are linked to poorer mental health and childbirth experiences? Researchers will survey at least 300 women. Participants will: (1) complete questionnaires about their mental health and psychological well-being; (2) answer questions about their reproductive choices, pregnancy, and/or childbirth experiences; (3) report on the impact of war, social support, maternal care, and postpartum trauma; (4) provide demographic and obstetric information. The findings will be used to develop an evidence-based model of the factors influencing reproductive behavior and perinatal mental health during war.

Conditions

Perinatal Mental Health; Women; Reproductive Behavior; Cohort Studies

Keywords

perinatal psychology; mental health; reproductive behavior; psychological trauma; PTSD; CB-PTSD; postpartum depression; pregnancy; sexual health; Ukraine; war-affected population

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• World Health Organization - Five Well-Being Index

  Subjective well-being will be measured using the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (World Health Organization, 1998). The total score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting higher levels of well-being. A score of 50 or below will be used as the cut-off for clinically significant decrease in well-being, in accordance with Topp et al. (2015). This measure applies to all study cohorts.

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after enrolment.

Secondary Outcomes (13)

• Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after enrolment.

• The City Birth Trauma Scale

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after enrolment, where applicable.

• The City Birth Trauma Scale (Partner version)

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after enrolment, where applicable.

• The Birth Satisfaction Scale - Revised

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after enrolment.

• Desire to Avoid Pregnancy Scale

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after enrolment.

Other Outcomes (1)

• Assessment, Care, and Trust in Pregnant and New Mothers

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after enrolment.

Study Arms (4)

Non-pregnant women

Women who are not pregnant at the time of enrollment and who either report an intention to become pregnant or report that they are not currently planning pregnancy.

Diagnostic Test: Psychological Assessment; Diagnostic Test: Routine Clinical Data Collection

Pregnant women

Women with an ongoing pregnancy at the time of enrolment, regardless of gestational age.

Diagnostic Test: Psychological Assessment; Diagnostic Test: Routine Clinical Data Collection

Postpartum women

Women who have given birth and are within 12 months postpartum at the time of enrolment.

Diagnostic Test: Psychological Assessment; Diagnostic Test: Routine Clinical Data Collection

Partners

Partners of enrolled women who provide informed consent and participate in the study as a supplementary dyadic subgroup.

Diagnostic Test: Psychological Assessment

Interventions

Psychological Assessment DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

A participant-completed questionnaire administered to eligible women and, where applicable, to partners included in the supplementary dyadic component. Question flow will be adapted through programmed routing logic so that participants are presented only with items relevant to their reproductive stage and experiences.

Non-pregnant women; Partners; Postpartum women; Pregnant women

Routine Clinical Data Collection DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Clinical data abstracted from routine medical records, including maternal, obstetric, fetal, delivery, and neonatal indicators relevant to the study. Data collection will be limited to information available in routine care and recorded only with participant consent.

Non-pregnant women; Postpartum women; Pregnant women

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Women will be recruited in Ukraine from healthcare settings providing reproductive, gynecological, pregnancy-planning, antenatal, childbirth, and postpartum care. The source population includes women across the reproductive continuum, including those not currently planning pregnancy, those planning pregnancy, those with an ongoing pregnancy, and those within 12 months after childbirth. Where feasible, consenting partners of enrolled women will also be included.

You may qualify if:

• able and willing to provide informed consent;
• aged 18 years or older.

You may not qualify if:

• younger than 18 years;
• unable to provide informed consent;
• do not have sufficient language proficiency to complete the study procedures;
• at the time of recruitment, they have an acute medical or psychological condition that would make participation unsafe, inappropriate, or unduly burdensome (e.g., obstetric emergencies, immediate postoperative or critical care status, or severe acute distress requiring urgent clinical care);
• participation or the handling of personal data could reasonably pose a risk to the safety of the participant or their family.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv: lead

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Reproductive Behavior; Psychological Well-Being; Psychological Trauma; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Depression, Postpartum

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior; Personal Satisfaction; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Mental Disorders; Puerperal Disorders; Pregnancy Complications; Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications; Urogenital Diseases; Depressive Disorder; Mood Disorders

Study Officials

• Liudmyla Krupelnytska, DSc

  Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Central Study Contacts

Nazar Yatsenko, MSc

CONTACT

+380733700423; nazaryatsenko@knu.ua

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Asst Prof

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 20, 2026
• First Posted: April 27, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): November 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 1, 2028
• Last Updated: May 1, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, ICF, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: De-identified individual participant data and supporting documents will become available after publication of the primary study results and completion of data cleaning and de-identification procedures.
• Access Criteria: Data may be shared through an open repository for fully anonymised datasets.