Australian women's experiences of receiving maternity care during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A cross‐sectional national survey

Abstract

Background The COVID‐19 pandemic has led to multiple changes in maternity services worldwide. Systems rapidly adapted to meet public health requirements aimed at preventing transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2, including quarantine procedures, travel restrictions, border closures, physical distancing and “stay‐at‐home” orders. Although these changes have impacted all stakeholders in maternity services, arguably the women at the center of this care have been most affected. This study aimed to explore women's experiences of receiving maternity care during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Australia. Methods A national cross‐sectional online survey, including fixed choice and open‐ended questions, was conducted during the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic in Australia; pregnant and postnatal women were recruited through social media networks. Results The survey was completed by 3364 women. Women felt distressed and alone due to rapid changes to their maternity care. Limited face‐to‐face contact with health practitioners and altered models of care often required women to accommodate significant changes and to coordinate their own care. Women felt that they were often “doing it alone,” due to public health restrictions on support people and visitors, both within and outside health services. Women described some benefits of visitor restrictions, such as, more time for rest, breastfeeding establishment, and bonding with their baby. Conclusions This large nationwide Australian study provides unique data on women's experiences of receiving maternity care during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Lessons learned provide an opportunity to rebuild and reshape the maternity sector to best meet the needs of women and their families during current and future public health crises.

A review of the disruption of breastfeeding supports in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in five Western countries and applications for clinical practice

“…Our search strategy returned two Australian and/or N.Z. studies [ 42 , 43 ], two studies from the U.K. [ 44 , 45 ], one study from the U.S. [ 48 ], and two Canadian studies [ 51 , 52 ] that examined maternal experiences of breastfeeding during the pandemic.…”

“…These mothers also noted concerns with trying to juggle caring for older children without family support, lack of experience with breastfeeding in public and stress of pumping at a busy workplace for those who worked as health professionals. Finally, in Australia, a large online survey returned responses from 3364 women who were pregnant or had given birth since March 2020 [ 42 ]. Mothers reported concerns about lack of social support, having to ‘do it all alone’, and being deprived of antenatal classes, leaving them without the necessary information to feel prepared for the transition to parenthood.…”

“…The Australian and N.Z. search returned 28 results, of which two met inclusion criteria [ 42 , 43 ], the U.K. search returned 26 articles, of which two met inclusion criteria [ 44 , 45 ], the U.S. search returned 63 articles, of which six met inclusion criteria [ 5 , 46 – 50 ], and the Canadian search returned 29 articles, of which two met inclusion criteria [ 51 , 52 ]. Two additional articles on breastfeeding initiation and duration in the U.S. were identified through searching the references of the identified publications and through RSS alerts of newly published articles of breastfeeding during the pandemic [ 12 , 53 ].…”

Partnership-defined quality approach to companionship during labour and birth in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea: A mixed-methods study

“…Whilst this research was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to note that we have seen major disruptions to maternity care in PNG and elsewhere as a result of the pandemic [44]. Many of these changes to service delivery aim to minimise COVID-19 transmission and have included significant restrictions on the presence of support people during antenatal appointments, labour and birth and through to postnatal care [45,46]. As such, it is likely that endeavours to support and enhance companionship during labour and birth have been negatively impacted during the pandemic.…”

Mental Health of Pregnant Women during Covid-19: A Systematic Review Study

“…Of 3364 participants of a study conducted in Australia, just below a third (29%) of the women could access antenatal care education [36]. Some participants mentioned that they changed their hospital choice for antenatal care as well as birth from public hospitals to private as they felt the COVID-19 pandemic affected the public hospitals in a way that limits their choice of support and postnatal care.…”