Morden Marla V, Ferris Emma Joy-E, Furtmann Jenna
Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, BC
Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, BC.
CMAJ Open. 2023 Aug 15;11(4):E716-E724. doi: 10.9778/cmajo.20220178. Print 2023 Jul-Aug.
The social isolation and safety measures imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic differentially burdened pregnant and postpartum people, disrupting health care and social support systems. We sought to understand the experiences of people navigating pre- and postnatal care, from pregnancy through to the early postpartum period, during the pandemic.
In this qualitative investigation, we conducted semistructured interviews with people residing in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, during the second half of pregnancy and again at 4-6 weeks' post partum between June 2020 and July 2021. Interviews were conducted remotely (via Zoom or telephone) and focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pre- and postnatal care, birth and labour planning, and the birthing experience. We used content and thematic analysis to analyze the data, and checked patterns using NVivo.
We interviewed 19 people during the second half of pregnancy and 18 of these people at 4-6 weeks' post partum. We identified 7 themes/subthemes describing how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their experiences: disrupted support systems, isolation, disrupted health care experiences (pre- and postnatal care, and labour and birth/hospital protocols), violated social norms (including typical rituals such as baby showers), impact on mental health and unexpected benefits (such as a no-visitor policy in hospitals after the birth, which provided a quiet period to bond with baby).
Pregnant and postpartum people were uniquely vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic and would have benefited from increased access to support in both health care and social settings. Future work should investigate maternal and infant/child functioning and behaviour to assess the long-term impact of the pandemic on Canadian families and developing children, with an aim to increase support where necessary.
2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行期间实施的社交隔离和安全措施给孕妇和产后女性带来了不同程度的负担，扰乱了医疗保健和社会支持系统。我们试图了解在大流行期间，人们从怀孕到产后早期接受产前和产后护理的经历。
在这项定性研究中，我们于2020年6月至2021年7月期间，对居住在加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省和艾伯塔省的人群进行了半结构化访谈，访谈时间分别为怀孕后半期以及产后4至6周。访谈通过远程方式（通过Zoom或电话）进行，重点关注COVID-19大流行对产前和产后护理、分娩和分娩计划以及分娩体验的影响。我们使用内容分析和主题分析来分析数据，并使用NVivo软件检查模式。
我们在怀孕后半期采访了19人，其中18人在产后4至6周再次接受了采访。我们确定了7个主题/子主题，描述了COVID-19大流行如何影响他们的经历：支持系统中断、隔离、医疗保健体验中断（产前和产后护理以及分娩和住院协议）、违反社会规范（包括婴儿送礼会等典型仪式）、对心理健康的影响以及意外益处（例如产后医院的无访客政策，这为与婴儿建立亲密关系提供了一段安静的时间）。
在COVID-19大流行期间，孕妇和产后女性特别脆弱，增加在医疗保健和社会环境中获得支持的机会可能会使她们受益。未来工作应调查母婴/儿童的功能和行为，以评估大流行对加拿大家庭和发育中儿童的长期影响，以便在必要时增加支持。
