Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Working Mothers in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Coronavirus is a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused by a novel coronavirus belonging to the family Coronaviridae. The disease was first discovered in December 2019 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. A few months later, the disease spread all over the world and became an epidemic. The infection for most people is mild to moderate but in Vulnerable groups, if they have the infections, they might experience severe COVID-19. Saudi Arabia initiated its response plan early, and all sectors and agencies worked in an integrated way to combat the disease. It has maintained proper communication during the pandemic and ensured community involvement, epidemiologic surveillance, and activation of rapid response teams. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected daily lives. Schools and daycares were closed, education was online, traveling stopped, work was suspended, gathering in social activities and practicing religious rituals, like praying or doing Umrah or Hajj, were banded. Changing lifestyles as a response to COVID-19 impacted whole communities with different categories of children, parents, and families. Women usually take the majority of daily responsibilities. The sudden change in lifestyle during COVID-19 put pressure on mothers, especially those who are working to balance work and family obligations. This study aims to identify the impact of Coronavirus disease 2019 on working mothers in Saudi Arabia. Method: Data of the study was collected through survey posted on social media and analyzed through Excel. It focuses on five aspects: health, lifestyle, social relations, work production and financial status. Our target population was working mothers in Saudi Arabia aged at least 25 years. Results: In this study, all factors affected working mothers categorized under two groups: Social Economic Status and Work suspension. For Social Economic Status factors, we find five factors which are monthly income, main breadwinner, number of children at school age, type of housing, and type of work. Almost all mothers include spiritual activities to their routine to cope with stress during this period. About half of our sample have negative impact on their mental health because they are the main breadwinner, and mothers with a smaller number of children at school age have more challenges to cope up. We found that mothers who own a house or work at governmental sector have better outcome of health. After analyzing data related to Work suspension, we found that mothers who have work support have better management for life circumstances, however their health outcomes were negatively affected. In addition, mothers working at education sector have the highest positive impact among other sectors. Our data shows that working mothers’ abilities to follow up with their children decreased. This study recommends that there is need to invest more in working mothers’ research and supportive programs and ensure collaboration globally to address working mothers’ needs and share experiences.