ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2022
Learning from a crisis: a qualitative study of the impact on mothers' emotional wellbeing of changes to maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic in England, using the National Maternity Survey 2020.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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14 citing papers in PubMed.
- Maternal deaths in the UK before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2026Article
- Living with risk and uncertainty: a qualitative phenomenological study of women's pregnancy and postpartum experiences in Saskatchewan during COVID-19.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Experiences of seeking and receiving maternity care during a health-system shock: a qualitative study with women and partners in the UK with a focus on marginalised groups.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Understanding the experiences of birthing care during COVID-19: A qualitative systematic review.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2025Review
- COVID-19 and anxiety in pregnancy and postpartum: a longitudinal survey.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Becoming a new parent during the pandemic: experiences of pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Breastfeeding support during the Covid-19 pandemic in England: analysis of a national survey.BMC public health · 2024Article
- The gap between the need for parental support and support provided during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study with first-time mothers' experiences.BMC public health · 2024Article
- "It made me feel like a shit parent": an intersectional analysis of pandemic mothering.Frontiers in sociology · 2024Article
- Feeling anxious'- women's experiences of having a baby in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Voqual real time app.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on postnatal depression: analysis of three population-based national maternity surveys in England (2014-2020).The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2023Article
- Preventing, Mitigating, and Treating Women's Perinatal Mental Health Problems during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review of Reviews with a Qualitative Narrative Synthesis.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Breastfeeding rates in England during the Covid-19 pandemic and the previous decade: Analysis of national surveys and routine data.PloS one · 2023Article
- The emotional and social impact of COVID-19 on postpartum women: A qualitative analysis on the experiences of women who gave birth during the pandemic in New York City.Women's health (London, England)Article
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4 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundPregnancy and the postnatal period can be times of psychosocial stress and insecurity, but high quality maternity care and social support can help mothers cope with stress and feel more secure. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated social and economic disruption increased rates of antenatal and postnatal stress, anxiety and depression, and also had profound impacts on the organisation of maternity services in England.
methodsThis was a qualitative descriptive study of the impact of pandemic-related changes to maternity care on mothers' emotional wellbeing, using inductive thematic analysis of open text responses to the National Maternity Survey (NMS) 2020 in England. A random sample of 16,050 mothers who gave birth 11-24
resultsThere were three themes: 'Chaos: impact of uncertainty', 'Abandoned: impact of reduction in care', and 'Alone: impact of loss of social support'. Mothers valued maternity care and many experienced additional stress from chaotic changes and reduction in care during the pandemic; from health professionals' own uncertainty and anxiety; and from restrictions on essential social support during pregnancy, labour and birth. Others felt that health professionals had communicated and cared for them well despite the changes and restrictions, and these mothers felt psychologically safe.
conclusionsPlanning for future crises should include considering how necessary adaptations to care can be implemented and communicated to minimise distress; ensuring that mothers are not deprived of social support at the time when they are at their most vulnerable; and supporting the psychological welfare of staff at a time of enormous pressure. There are also lessons for maternity care in 'normal' times: that care is highly valued, but trust is easily lost; that some mothers come into the maternity system with vulnerabilities that can be ameliorated or intensified by the attitudes of staff; that every effort should be made to welcome a mother's partner or chosen companion into maternity care; and that high quality postnatal care can make a real difference to mothers' wellbeing.
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