ArticleSexual & reproductive healthcare : official journal of the Swedish Association of Midwives2022
Women's experiences with being pregnant and becoming a new mother during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in Sexual & reproductive healthcare : official journal of the Swedish Association of Midwives, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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
- Auriculotherapy for anxiety, quality of life and fear of COVID-19 in pregnant women: a randomized clinical trial.Revista brasileira de enfermagem · 2025Trial
- Article
- Pregnancy in the Shadow of Covid-19: A Qualitative Study.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Article
- Pandemic-related stress and access to caregivers and healthcare among parents-to-be.Journal of child and family studies · 2025Article
- The experience of pregnancy in the COVID-19 pandemic.Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia · 2025Article
- Seeking digital maternity healthcare during the pandemic health system shock: a systematic review of women's experiences in low- and middle-income countries.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2025Review
- COVID-19 Public Health Restrictions and New Mothers' Mental Health: A Qualitative Scoping Review.Qualitative health research · 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
- Evolution of a System to Monitor Infant Neuromotor Development in the Home: Lessons from COVID-19.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Letter to the editor in response to "Women's experiences with being pregnant and becoming a new mother during the COVID-19 pandemic" by Vermeulen et al.Sexual & reproductive healthcare : official journal of the Swedish Association of Midwives · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveDuring the COVID-19 pandemic a national quarantine was imposed in Belgium, which led to changes in the maternity care provision. Despite emerging literature, it remains unclear how pregnant women and women who have recently given birth experienced this period. With this study we aim to explore these women's experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsThis qualitative study is a part of a large longitudinal study on women's health-related quality of life (HRQoL), during the COVID-19 pandemic. An open-ended question, in an online survey, asking women about their experiences during the perinatal period was analysed using a thematic analysis.
resultsOf the 1007 women who participated in the HRQoL-study in June 2020, 556 (55%) women answered the open question. In general, we identified a multiplicity of mixed and interconnected feelings. Many women reported negative feelings; nevertheless, the pandemic also had some positive aspects for respondents. Six overreaching themes were identified: fear of contamination, feeling isolated and unsupported, not able to share experiences, disrupted care, feeling unprepared and experience a peaceful period.
conclusionAlthough perinatal healthcare professionals did their utmost to provide the necessary care, being pregnant or being a new mother during this pandemic was challenging at times. However, this period was also experienced as a peaceful period with lot of opportunities to rest. Some of the changes such as telework and restricted visiting policies were experienced positively by many. Lessons learned can support perinatal healthcare professionals and policy makers in the organisation of maternity care in the post-pandemic era.
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