Postpartum women’s experiences of social and healthcare professional support during the COVID-19 pandemic: A recurrent cross-sectional thematic analysis

Jackson, Leanne; Pascalis, Leonardo De; Harrold, Joanne A.; Fallon, Victoria; Silverio, Sergio A.

doi:10.1016/j.wombi.2021.10.002

Cited by 39 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Nevertheless, women appreciated the protection afforded by PPE and found it reassuring. In common with other research [22] , [44] , [46] , the women we interviewed valued efforts staff were making to care for them in challenging circumstances. They realised that the emerging situation and rapidly changing advice created difficulties for staff too.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Throughout the pandemic, evidence from many countries has consistently suggested pregnant and postpartum women have experienced: increased levels of anxiety [17] , [18] , pregnancy-related stress [19] , anxiety related to fear of contracting the virus [20] , and the lack of social support [21] , [22] . Reduced access to maternity services has been coupled with a reduction in health-seeking behaviours, with poorer outcomes for pregnant women and their babies being noted, such as increased mortality, stillbirth, and ruptured ectopic pregnancies [23] , [24] , [25] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Navigating uncertainty alone: A grounded theory analysis of women’s psycho-social experiences of pregnancy and childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic in London

Montgomery¹,

Backer²,

Easter³

et al. 2023

Women and Birth

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Navigating uncertainty alone: A grounded theory analysis of women’s psycho-social experiences of pregnancy and childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic in London

Montgomery¹,

Backer²,

Easter³

et al. 2023

Women and Birth

Self Cite

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“…Maternity services have therefore been subject to repeated service-level reconfiguration [8], rendering many women unhappy with the care they received [38]. Specifically, it has been reported that women (in the general population) in the UK have experienced some of the highest levels of perinatal mental ill health ever recorded empirically [39,40] and were adversely affected by restrictions associated with COVID-19 [41,42], especially with regard to missing out on social and healthcare professional support [43].…”

Section: Summary Of Main Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting Perinatal Mental Health and Wellbeing during COVID-19

Bridle

Walton

Vord

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Mental health is especially important as women transition into parenthood. The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the rapid reconfiguration of maternity services, including perinatal mental healthcare, as offered by Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Midwives, in NHS Trusts in the United Kingdom. This article represents work undertaken in rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic and aims to document the findings from March 2020 up until May 2021 in literature published on perinatal mental health through the pandemic, as well as to engage in a knowledge mapping exercise across five NHS Trusts in London. In this research, we utilised a critical review methodology which purposefully selects and synthesises materials after extensive literature searching to provide a broad and informed narrative around an issue. For our knowledge mapping exercise, we utilised an inclusive stance to gather, pool, and synthesise data from five NHS Trusts regarding the provisions and reconfigurations of their perinatal mental health services, creating a comparable and translatable snapshot in time. Our rapid, critical review highlighted two themes: ‘Increased Perinatal Distress’ and ‘Inaccessible Services and Support’. Our knowledge mapping exercise produced four themes: ‘Retention of Existing Service Provision’; ‘Additional Services Provided’; ‘Reconfiguration of Service Provision’; ‘Additional Provision to Support Staff Wellbeing’. We conclude by offering best practice guidance in order to provide shared learning to aid the transition through para-pandemic circumstances to service delivery in a post-pandemic ‘new normal’.

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“…Women in our study reported that they could not get the support they wanted, either from their maternity care providers or from their chosen birth partner(s), because of COVID-19 measures. Other researchers have linked the lack of family and healthcare professional support to feelings of loneliness, especially where it continues into the post-partum period [27,30]. The importance of choice in matters such as place of labour and birth, water birth, and birth partners for women is well documented [31][32][33][34].…”

Section: Interpretation and Comparison With Other Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Making maternity and neonatal care personalised in the COVID-19 pandemic: results from the Babies Born Better Survey in the UK and the Netherlands

Berg

Akooji²,

Thomson³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on women’s birth experiences. To date, there are no studies that use both quantitative and qualitative data to compare women’s birth experiences before and during the pandemic, across more than one country. Aim: To examine women’s birth experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and to compare the experiences of women who gave birth in the United Kingdom (UK) or the Netherlands (NL) either before or during the pandemic. Method: This study is based on analyses of quantitative and qualitative data from the online Babies Born Better survey. Responses recorded by women giving birth in the UK and the NL between June and December 2020 have been used, encompassing women who gave birth between 2017 and 2020. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively, and chi-squared tests were performed to compare women who gave birth pre- versus during pandemic and separately by country. Qualitative data was analysed by inductive thematic analysis. Findings: Respondents in both the UK and the NL who gave birth during the pandemic were as likely, or, if they had a self-reported above average standard of life, more likely to rate their labour and birth experience positively when compared to women who gave birth pre-pandemic. This was despite the fact that those labouring in the pandemic reported less support and choice. Two potential explanatory themes emerged from the qualitative data: respondents had lower expectations during the pandemic, and they appreciated that care providers tried hard to personalise care. Conclusion: Our study implies that many women labouring during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced restrictions, but their experience was mitigated by staff actions. However, personalised care should not be maintained by the good will of care providers, but should be a priority in maternity care policy to benefit all service users equitably.

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Postpartum women’s experiences of social and healthcare professional support during the COVID-19 pandemic: A recurrent cross-sectional thematic analysis

Cited by 39 publications

References 28 publications

Navigating uncertainty alone: A grounded theory analysis of women’s psycho-social experiences of pregnancy and childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic in London

Navigating uncertainty alone: A grounded theory analysis of women’s psycho-social experiences of pregnancy and childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic in London

Supporting Perinatal Mental Health and Wellbeing during COVID-19

Making maternity and neonatal care personalised in the COVID-19 pandemic: results from the Babies Born Better Survey in the UK and the Netherlands

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