Perinatal mental health and reproductive behavior among women in wartime Ukraine: a cohort study protocol

Abstract

War reshapes the conditions under which reproductive decisions are made and pregnancy is experienced. Prolonged insecurity, displacement, economic instability, disruption of healthcare, and reduced social support may lead women and families to postpone pregnancy or face pregnancy and childbirth under constrained conditions. These challenges highlight the need for research on how war-related stress and trauma affect women’s reproductive behavior and perinatal mental health. Method: This prospective cohort study will recruit at least 328 women through healthcare institutions providing reproductive and perinatal care. Eligible participants will include non-pregnant women, pregnant women, and women within the first year postpartum. Where feasible, partners of enrolled women will also be included to provide complementary dyadic data. Participants will be followed from baseline to 3, 6, and 12 months. Data will be collected through web-based questionnaires and routine clinical records. No experimental intervention will be delivered, and participation in the study will not modify standard clinical care. Repeated measures will capture mental health, reproductive intentions and behavior, war-related and perinatal experiences, and key sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics. Primary analyses will use mixed-effects models to examine mental-health trajectories, with reproductive status modeled both as a baseline cohort characteristic and, where participants change status during follow-up, as a time-varying covariate; reproductive transitions will also be examined as secondary longitudinal outcomes. Discussion: This protocol addresses an important gap by using a longitudinal design to examine women’s experiences in a wartime setting. By situating mental health within disrupted reproductive plans, insecurity, healthcare strain, and family-level experiences, the study may help identify how armed conflicts shape both psychological vulnerability and reproductive decision-making. The findings may inform more responsive care for women affected by war.