Background: At the end of the second millennium, chronic
hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is recognized as a major public health problem. The global prevalence of chronic HCV infection is estimated to be approaching 3%, over 170 million HCV infected people. Many studies show that patients with chronic HCV infections also have mental health concerns, such as depression, anxiety, and problems with thinking and memory are common. Little is known about the experiences of women pregnant living with HCV in the general community. The present study provides the results from the first comprehensive social survey of Iranian pregnant women s experiences of living with HCV.Methods: Two hundred and fifteen persons participated in this cross-sectional study between November 2015- September 2019 in Hazrat Zeinab Hospital. The prevalence and severity of depression&
anxiety were assessed using the Hamilton Scales. 95 participants women s pregnant who were anti‐HCV positive (ELISA, third generation) living in south Iran that 46% of them are Iranian And the rest were foreigners.Results: There was significantly higher prevalence of
depression in anti‐HCV positive patients (42.3%) than in healthy participants (15.7%) (Both P<0.01). There was a significantly higher rate of
depression in patients with hepatitis than in healthy participants (P=0.004). Anti‐HCV positive patients showed a higher rate of
anxiety than healthy participants (P=0.018). No statistically significant difference was found in
depression severity between two groups (P> 0.05).Conclusion: Despite the limits of current research, policy and practice still lags significantly behind best evidence-based practice. Models of integrated care need to be developed and trialled. And Depression &
anxiety screening in anti‐HCV positive patients pregnant may be beneficial in disease management.Message for policymakers: HCV has not yet to be taken up by the women s health movement as a key issue, especially for young women and we argue that this trend needs to be more attention. Hopefully, an improved understanding of the disease will lessen the likelihood of negative social stereotyping. While educational efforts should emphasize and explain appropriate precautions, they need to more specifically address unnecessary concerns about endangering others through the spread of the
hepatitis C virus.