SynthesisBMJ open2022
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on expectant and new parents' experience of pregnancy, childbirth, breast feeding, parental responsiveness and sensitivity, and bonding and attunement in high-income countries: a systematic review of the evidence.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Women's views and experiences of breastfeeding during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A systematic review of qualitative evidence.Maternal & child nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- Somalian mothers' perspectives on breast milk while their infants are cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit: a qualitative study.International breastfeeding journal · 2026Article
- Labour and delivery characteristics, maternal birth satisfaction and early relational health among COVID-19 pandemic-born children.Journal of reproductive and infant psychology · 2026Article
- Partners' childbirth experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic - findings from the Swedish COPE prospective cohort study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Observational
- An overview of reviews of breastfeeding barriers and facilitators: Analyzing global research trends and hotspots.Global epidemiology · 2025Review
- 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
- "Will I survive this?": A qualitative exploration of the wider impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and well-being of pregnant and parenting youth and their children in Canada.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
- Perinatal care in SARS-CoV-2 infected women: the lesson learnt from a national prospective cohort study during the pandemic in Italy.BMC public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo review the evidence on how pregnancy, birth experience, breast feeding, parental responsiveness and sensitivity, and bonding and attunement were impacted by COVID-19.
methodsWe searched eight literature databases and websites of relevant UK-based organisations. The review focused on evidence during pregnancy and the early years (0-5 years). Studies of any study design published in English from 1 March 2020 to 15 March 2021 and conducted in high-income countries were included. Screening and data extraction were undertaken in duplicate. Evidence was synthesised using a narrative approach. Study quality of included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.
resultsThe search yielded 9776 publications, of which 26 met our inclusion criteria. Significant knowledge gaps on how COVID-19 affected pregnancy and breast feeding limited healthcare providers' ability to provide consistent evidence-based information and care at the start of the pandemic. There was an enduring sense of loss about loved ones being restricted from taking part in key moments. Parents were concerned about the limitations of virtual healthcare provision. Some parents reported more opportunities for responsive breast feeding and improved parent-infant bonding due to reduced social and work pressures. Women from minoritised ethnic groups were less likely to continue breast feeding and attributed this to a lack of face-to-face support.
conclusionsThe evidence suggests that new and expectant families have been both negatively and positively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions. The impacts on parents' opportunities to bond with their young children and to be attuned to their needs were felt unequally. It is important that emergency response policies consider the mother and the partner as a family unit when making changes to the delivery of maternal and child health and care services, so as to mitigate the impact on the family and existing health inequalities. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021236769.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.