Collective for Midwifery, Child and Family Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, NSW, Australia.
College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
Womens Health (Lond). 2024 Jan-Dec;20:17455057241274898. doi: 10.1177/17455057241274898.
The COVID-19 pandemic, drought and internal conflict have worsened Ethiopia's already weak healthcare system. Antenatal and intrapartum care are especially prone to interruption under these circumstances.
To explore women's experiences receiving antenatal and intrapartum care during the pandemic.
A descriptive qualitative approach was utilised.
We conducted in-depth interviews with 17 women and held 4 focus group discussions with women who gave birth at 4 public hospitals during the pandemic. A study was conducted at four public hospitals in the Sidama region of Ethiopia, during which data were collected from 14 February to 10 May 2022. Thematic analysis was performed to generate themes.
The peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia presented several barriers to access and uptake of antenatal and intrapartum care at public hospitals. Four themes and 10 subthemes emerged from the thematic analysis. The themes were 'Barriers to maternity care uptake during COVID-19', 'Shortage of resources during COVID-19', 'Delays in maternity care uptake during COVID-19' and 'Mistreatment of women during maternity care during COVID-19'. The subthemes included 'Fear of contracting COVID-19', 'People in the hospital neglecting COVID-19 prevention', 'Women losing their job during COVID-19', 'Shortage of beds in the labour ward', 'Shortage of medical supplies', 'Delays in seeking care', 'Delays in receiving care', 'Complications during childbirth', 'disrespectful' and 'suboptimal care'.
The findings of this study underscore the impact of COVID-19 on antenatal and intrapartum care, leading to delays in seeking and receiving care due to reduced rapport, resource shortages, companion restrictions, disrespectful care and suboptimal care. These factors contribute to increased obstetric complications during COVID-19. It is imperative for policymakers to prioritise essential resources for antenatal and intrapartum care in the present and future pandemics. Moreover, healthcare providers should maintain respectful and optimal care even amid challenges.
COVID-19 大流行、干旱和内部冲突使埃塞俄比亚本已脆弱的医疗体系进一步恶化。在这种情况下，产前和产时护理尤其容易中断。
探讨女性在大流行期间接受产前和产时护理的体验。
采用描述性定性方法。
我们对 17 名妇女进行了深入访谈，并在大流行期间在 4 家公立医院分娩的妇女中进行了 4 次焦点小组讨论。这项研究在埃塞俄比亚 Sidama 地区的 4 家公立医院进行，数据收集时间为 2022 年 2 月 14 日至 5 月 10 日。采用主题分析法生成主题。
埃塞俄比亚 COVID-19 大流行高峰期给公立医院获得和接受产前和产时护理带来了若干障碍。从主题分析中出现了 4 个主题和 10 个子主题。这些主题是“COVID-19 期间产妇保健服务使用率的障碍”、“COVID-19 期间资源短缺”、“COVID-19 期间产妇保健服务使用率延迟”和“COVID-19 期间产妇护理中的虐待妇女”。子主题包括“担心感染 COVID-19”、“医院里的人忽视 COVID-19 预防”、“妇女在 COVID-19 期间失业”、“产房床位短缺”、“医疗用品短缺”、“护理延迟”、“护理延迟”、“分娩并发症”、“不尊重”和“护理不佳”。
本研究结果强调了 COVID-19 对产前和产时护理的影响，由于关系破裂、资源短缺、同伴限制、不尊重的护理和护理不佳，导致寻求和接受护理的延迟，从而导致 COVID-19 期间产科并发症增加。决策者必须优先考虑大流行期间和未来的产前和产时护理的基本资源。此外，医疗保健提供者即使在面临挑战时也应保持尊重和最佳护理。
