SynthesisWomen and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives2023
Parental experiences with changes in maternity care during the Covid-19 pandemic: A mixed-studies systematic review.
Synthesis in Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 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.
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Who cites it
36 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
- Adherence to infection prevention measures and vaccine uptake among pregnant women and new mothers in Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Maternity Care Experiences Among Birthing Women in Two European-Region Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.International journal of nursing practice · 2026Article
- Partners' childbirth experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic - findings from the Swedish COPE prospective cohort study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Observational
- From pandemic to progress: maternal health resilience in the post COVID-19 era in Tamil Nadu, India.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Perceived health and postpartum depression among perinatal women: a cross-sectional study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Engagement with gestational diabetes self-management: a qualitative study from the UK.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Feeling wronged: maternity care experiences of black, Sub-Saharan African migrant women living in Belgium during COVID-19.Frontiers in global women's health · 2026Article
- Pregnant Women's Experiences of Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The impact of changes in health policies caused by COVID-19 on pregnancy outcomes in Iran during health crises: A retrospective quasi-experimental study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Changes in prenatal cannabis use and perceptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2025Article
- Trends in adverse pregnancy outcomes in Louisiana, 2017 to 2022.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Potentially traumatic childbirth experience, childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and the parent-infant relationship in non-birthing parents.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Article
- 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
- Rethinking the birth plan after the pandemic: A qualitative study of the view of Spanish midwives.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Mothers' and caregivers' experiences of COVID-19 restrictions during postpartum hospitalisation: a cross-sectional survey in France.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- COVID testing hesitancy among pregnant patients: lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic about the unique needs and challenges of medically complex populations.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Women's experiences of disrespect and abuse in Swiss facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative analysis of an open-ended question in the IMAgiNE EURO study.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
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, pregnant women were identified as a high-risk and vulnerable group. To reduce risk of transmission, maternity healthcare services were modified to limit exposure but maintain services for pregnant women. However, the change in hospital practice may have compromised quality maternal care standards. Therefore, this review aims to explore parental experiences and views with maternity care received from healthcare institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsA mixed studies systematic review was conducted. Six electronic databases (Medline, CINAHL, Embase, PsycInfo, Web of Science, and Maternity and Infant Care) were searched for qualitative, observational, and mixed method studies from the year 2019 to February 2022. Study quality was appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Quantitative findings were converted to narrative findings. Data was synthesised thematically using a convergent synthesis design.
resultsFifty-eight articles were included. Four themes were generated: (1) Distress associated with COVID-19 regulations (perception of hospital restrictions, confusion with ever changing policies), (2) adaptability with maternity services (prenatal: changes in birth plans, prenatal: altered antenatal appointments, education, and care, intrapartum: medicalization of birth, postpartum: varied views on care received and Breastfeeding woes, postpartum: skin-to-skin contact and mother infant bonding) (3) importance of support persons, and (4) future direction for maternity services.
conclusionsParental experiences highlighted how maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic did not adhere to WHO standards of quality maternity care. This calls for healthcare institutions to continuously appraise the implementation of restrictive practices that deviate from evidence-based frameworks underpinning quality care.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.