ArticleBirth (Berkeley, Calif.)2022
Birth during the Covid-19 pandemic: What childbearing people in the United States needed to achieve a positive birth experience.
Article in Birth (Berkeley, Calif.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled 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
- COVID-19 Impact On Black and Latina Women: Pregnancy and Parenting.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Impact of Presence of Doulas on Perceived Racism for Black Mothers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.PRiMER (Leawood, Kan.) · 2025Article
- The role of nurses, midwives, and doulas on breastfeeding: changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in global women's health · 2025Article
- The Social Context of Pregnancy, Respectful Maternity Care, Biomarkers of Weathering, and Postpartum Mental Health Inequities: A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Differences in delivery hospitalization experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic by maternal race and ethnicity, Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, 2020.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2024Article
- Psychometric assessment of the US person-centered prenatal and maternity care scales in a low-income predominantly Latinx population in California.BMC women's health · 2023Article
- "This is not what I imagined motherhood would look like": pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting during COVID-19 - a qualitative analysis of the first year since birth.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- Erratum.Birth (Berkeley, Calif.) · 2022Article
- Birth during the Covid-19 pandemic: What childbearing people in the United States needed to achieve a positive birth experience.Birth (Berkeley, Calif.) · 2022Article
- Centering the Right to Health of Childbearing People in the US During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Low trust, high barriers: A qualitative study of perinatal care experiences in New York City during the early COVID-19 pandemic.Women's health (London, England)Article
- Experiences Navigating the Pregnancy Care Continuum During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's HealthArticle
- Article
- Birth setting decisions during COVID-19: A comparative qualitative study.Women's health (London, England)Article
- To be soft again: A phenomenological study of uncertainty and resilience in childbearing during the COVID-19 pandemic.Women's health (London, England)Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issuedErratum.2022
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID pandemic exposed many inadequacies in the maternity care system in the United States. Maternity care protocols put in place during this crisis often did not include input from childbearing people or follow prepandemic guidelines for high-quality care. Departure from standard maternity care practices led to unfavorable and traumatic experiences for childbearing people. This study aimed to identify what childbearing people needed to achieve a positive birth experience during the pandemic.
methodsThis mixed-methods, cross-sectional study was conducted among individuals who gave birth during the COVID pandemic from 3/1/2020 to 11/1/2020. Participants were sampled via a Web-based questionnaire that was distributed nationally. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were analyzed. Thematic and content analyses of qualitative data were based on narrative information provided by participants. Qualitative and convergent quantitative data were reported.
resultsParticipants (n = 707) from 46 states and the District of Columbia completed the questionnaire with 394 contributing qualitative data about their experiences. Qualitative findings reflected women's priorities for (a) the option of community birth, (b) access to midwives, (c) the right to an advocate at birth, and (d) the need for transparent and affirming communication. Quantitative data reinforced these findings. Participants with a midwife provider felt significantly better informed. Those who gave birth in a community setting (at home or in a freestanding birth center) also reported significantly higher satisfaction and felt better informed. Participants of color (BIPOC) were significantly less satisfied and more stressed while pregnant and giving birth during the pandemic.
conclusionsHigh-quality maternity care places childbearing people at the center of care. Prioritizing the needs of childbearing people, in COVID times or otherwise, is critical for improving their experiences and delivering efficacious and safe care.
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