ICAP at Columbia University, Kigali, Rwanda.
Oshakati Medical Centre, Oshakati, Namibia.
Women Birth. 2023 May;36(3):e295-e299. doi: 10.1016/j.wombi.2022.10.002. Epub 2022 Oct 11.
Considerable progress has been made globally in improving maternal and newborn babies' health. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed considerable challenges for countries to maintain the provision of high-quality, essential maternal and newborn healthcare services.
A rapid review was carried out on 20 March 2022 on postnatal care (PNC) services availability and utilization during the COVID-19 era in sub-Saharan Africa. PubMed, Google Scholar, and Africa Journals Online (AJOL) databases were searched for relevant studies. Studies included in the review utilized both primary data and secondary data.
Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria. The review revealed that there were significant declines in the availability and utilization of PNC services during and after the COVID-19 lockdown. Several reasons were found to contribute to the decline.
New, innovative strategies are therefore required to ensure that mothers and their newborn babies receive essential PNC to reduce maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Some of the strategies that can be used include home-based PNC visits, the use of telemedicine, phone-based referral networks, social media, and community radios.
全球在改善孕产妇和新生儿健康方面取得了重大进展。COVID-19 大流行给各国带来了相当大的挑战，使其难以维持提供高质量、基本的孕产妇和新生儿保健服务。
2022 年 3 月 20 日，对撒哈拉以南非洲地区 COVID-19 时代产后护理（PNC）服务的可及性和利用情况进行了快速审查。在 PubMed、Google Scholar 和 Africa Journals Online（AJOL）数据库中搜索了相关研究。综述中纳入的研究既使用了原始数据，也使用了二手数据。
有 19 项研究符合纳入标准。审查结果显示，在 COVID-19 封锁期间和之后，PNC 服务的可及性和利用率显著下降。发现了几个导致下降的原因。
因此，需要新的创新策略，以确保母亲及其新生儿获得基本的 PNC，以降低撒哈拉以南非洲的孕产妇和新生儿发病率和死亡率。可以使用的一些策略包括：家庭为基础的 PNC 访问、远程医疗、电话转诊网络、社交媒体和社区广播。
