Care during covid-19: partner attendance at maternity services

Walsh, Sebastian; Simmons-Jones, Fiona; Best, Rebecca

doi:10.1136/bmj.m3973

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Furthermore, they were concerned about their own and their family's health and well-being. This is in line with other studies investigating women's experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic (8, 13,17,18). Self-reported worries and related feelings of anxiety during pregnancy are common even under normal circumstances (19,20), but there is mounting evidence that the impact on women's psycho-social wellbeing has been elevated during the pandemic, which, in turn, can increase the risk of post-partum depression (12).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Giving birth and becoming a parent during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative analysis of 827 women’s responses to an online survey in Norway

Eri

Downe²,

Vedeler

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: When Europe was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, changes were made in maternal care to reduce infections. In hospital maternity wards, postnatal wards, and neonatal units’ companions and visitors were restricted. There is emerging evidence that changes in maternity care delivery and restrictions due to social distancing have been distressing for many childbearing women. We aimed to explore the experiences of giving birth and becoming a parent in Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study is based on the responses from women who provided in-depth qualitative comments to Babies Born Better survey version 3, December 2020. The responses were analysed with inductive thematic analysis.Results: In all, 827 women who gave birth in 42 of 45 available birthing units across Norway, regardless of parity and mode of birth, were included. The qualitative analysis resulted in four themes: 1) Waiting period filled with stress and worries; 2) Feeling lonely, isolated and disempowered without the partner; 3) Sharing experiences and becoming a family; and 4) Busy postnatal care without compassion.Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on women’s experiences of giving birth and becoming a parent in Norway. The denial of companionship and postnatal visiting varied between hospitals, which suggests that some of the restrictions were related to organisational protectionism than the protection of women and babies. Early postnatal care is the area of care that seems to have been most negatively affected and clearly requires more attention. The balance between humanised healthcare and protection from infection has not been well maintained through this current pandemic.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Giving birth and becoming a parent during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative analysis of 827 women’s responses to an online survey in Norway

Eri

Downe²,

Vedeler

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Furthermore, they were concerned about their own and their family's health and well-being. This is in line with other studies investigating women's experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Ceulemans et al, 2021 ; Karavadra et al, 2020 ; Naurin et al, 2020 ; Walsh et al, 2020 ). Self-reported worries and related feelings of anxiety during pregnancy are common even under normal circumstances ( Dennis et al, 2017 ; PeÑAcoba‐Puente et al, 2011 ), but there are indications that the impact on women's psycho-social wellbeing has been elevated during the pandemic, which, in turn, can increase the risk of post-partum depression ( Fallon et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Giving birth and becoming a parent during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative analysis of 806 women's responses to three open-ended questions in an online survey

et al. 2022

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“…For example, depending on the hospital, sometimes women could have a partner present once dilation had started and in other cases the woman had to be in established labour ( i.e., at least 4cm dilated) before the partner could attend the unit [ 8 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Walsh, Simmons-Jones, & Best (2020) [ 17 ] raised a COVID-19 call for humane care on the topic of altered partner restrictions in maternity. The call referred to the blanket application of hospital visitor restrictions ignoring the important role of some visitors ( e.g., partners in maternity settings) [ 18 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of Public Health England infection prevention and control guidance in maternity units in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Hanley

Jones

Oberman

et al. 2022

Journal of Hospital Infection

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Care during covid-19: partner attendance at maternity services

Cited by 12 publications

References 8 publications

Giving birth and becoming a parent during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative analysis of 827 women’s responses to an online survey in Norway

Giving birth and becoming a parent during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative analysis of 827 women’s responses to an online survey in Norway

Giving birth and becoming a parent during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative analysis of 806 women's responses to three open-ended questions in an online survey

Implementation of Public Health England infection prevention and control guidance in maternity units in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

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