ArticleWomen and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives2022
The experiences of childbearing women who tested positive to COVID-19 during the pandemic in northern Italy.
Article in Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Phenomenological research in the field of Infant Mental Health and Early Childhood (IECMH) -A mapping review.Infant mental health journal · 2026Pooled it
- Women's experiences of maternity care in high-income countries during the pandemic health system shock: a follow-up systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Women's views and experiences of breastfeeding during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A systematic review of qualitative evidence.Maternal & child nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- Parental experiences with changes in maternity care during the Covid-19 pandemic: A mixed-studies systematic review.Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Maternity care during COVID-19: a qualitative evidence synthesis of women's and maternity care providers' views and experiences.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A Pilot Study on a Reliable and Accessible Approach to Remote Mental Health Assessment: Lessons from Italian Pregnant Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Understanding the experiences of birthing care during COVID-19: A qualitative systematic review.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2025Review
- Oscillating autonomy: a grounded theory study of women's experiences of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy, labour and birth, and the early postnatal period.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Pregnant and postpartum women's experiences of the indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in high-income countries: a qualitative evidence synthesis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Women and Care: Reflections on the Lived Experience of COVID-19 Sufferers.Community health equity research & policy · 2024Article
- Healthcare providers' experiences of maternity care service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom: a follow-up systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis.Frontiers in global women's health · 2024Review
- Women's suggestions on how to improve the quality of maternal and newborn care: A qualitative analysis from the IMAgiNE EURO survey in Italy during the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.European journal of midwifery · 2024Article
- Freedom for some, but not for Mum: the reproductive injustice associated with pandemic 'Freedom Day' for perinatal women in the United Kingdom.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Health anxiety, death anxiety and coronaphobia: Predictors of postpartum depression symptomatology during the COVID-19 pandemic.Midwifery · 2023Article
- The impact of the second COVID-19 lockdown on anxiety and depressive symptoms in pregnant women: A case study of pregnant women in northern Italy.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2023Article
- Perinatal depression during the fourth wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in a single prenatal clinic in Southern Italy: The role of loneliness, anxiety, and maternal support.Journal of affective disorders reports · 2023Article
- Midwives' experiences of providing maternity care to women and families during the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Italy.Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives · 2023Article
- Pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum experience in pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 in 2020 in Paris: a qualitative phenomenological study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
problemThe COVID-19 pandemic has significantly challenged maternity provision internationally. COVID-19 positive women are one of the childbearing groups most impacted by the pandemic due to drastic changes to maternity care pathways put in place.
backgroundSome quantitative research was conducted on clinical characteristics of pregnant women with COVID-19 and pregnant women's concerns and birth expectations during the COVID-19 pandemic, but no qualitative findings on childbearing women's experiences during the pandemic were published prior to our study.
aimTo explore childbearing experiences of COVID-19 positive mothers who gave birth in the months of March and April 2020 in a Northern Italy maternity hospital.
methodsA qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach was undertaken. Audio-recorded semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 women. Thematic analysis was completed using NVivo software. Ethical approval was obtained from the research site's Ethics Committee prior to commencing the study.
findingsThe findings include four main themes: 1) coping with unmet expectations; 2) reacting and adapting to the 'new ordinary'; 3) 'pandemic relationships'; 4) sharing a traumatic experience with long-lasting emotional impact. DISCUSSION: The most traumatic elements of women's experiences were the sudden family separation, self-isolation, transfer to a referral centre, the partner not allowed to be present at birth and limited physical contact with the newborn.
conclusionKey elements of good practice including provision of compassionate care, presence of birth companions and transfer to referral centers only for the most severe COVID-19 cases should be considered when drafting maternity care pathways guidelines in view of future pandemic waves.
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