Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42100531›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in public health2026

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.

Camila Carbajal, Tisha Dasgupta, Emily Russell, Su Mon Latt, Gillian Horgan, Lili Peterson, Hiten D Mistry, Kirsty Kitchen, Milly Wilson, Valerie Smith and 9 more

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Camila Carbajal *Department of Women & Children's Health, School of Life Course & Population Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Tisha Dasgupta *Department of Women & Children's Health, School of Life Course & Population Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Emily RussellDepartment of Women & Children's Health, School of Life Course & Population Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Su Mon LattDepartment of Women & Children's Health, School of Life Course & Population Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Gillian HorganDepartment of Women & Children's Health, School of Life Course & Population Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Lili PetersonDepartment of Women & Children's Health, School of Life Course & Population Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Hiten D MistryDepartment of Women & Children's Health, School of Life Course & Population Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Kirsty KitchenThe RESILIENT Study Patient & Public Involvement & Engagement Advisory Group, United Kingdom.
Milly WilsonDepartment of Women & Children's Health, School of Life Course & Population Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Valerie SmithSchool of Nursing, Midwifery & Health Systems, College of Health and Agricultural Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Harriet BouldingThe Policy Institute, Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Kayleigh S SheenDepartment of Social Sciences, College of Health, Science and Society, University of the West of England Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
Aricca D Van CittersThe Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States.
Eugene C NelsonThe Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States.
Emma L DuncanDepartment of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, School of Life Course & Population Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Peter von DadelszenDepartment of Women & Children's Health, School of Life Course & Population Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
RESILIENT Study Group
Sergio A SilverioDepartment of Women & Children's Health, School of Life Course & Population Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Laura A MageeDepartment of Women & Children's Health, School of Life Course & Population Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 disrupted healthcare systems globally, particularly challenging maternity services which continued to be operated as an essential service. Reconfigurations were implemented to continue providing care in a safe manner and in line with infection control restrictions. This systematic review of women's experiences of maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic in high-income countries (HICs), aimed to synthesize published literature and inform future responses to global disasters. Material and methods: Electronic database of Scopus, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL PsychINFO, and the Cochrane COVID Study Register, were searched from June 2021- June 2024 to identify eligible records. Thematic synthesis was used to synthesise the data. Results: 79 studies were included with data from over 20,000 perinatal women, most were of moderate to high methodological quality. Data synthesis showed 11 themes across five main concepts related to maternity service reconfigurations, namely: (1) Care-seeking and care experience, (2) Virtual care, (3) Self-monitoring, (4) Vaccination, and (5) Ethical future of maternity care. Conclusions: Women predominantly viewed changes to maternity care negatively. Future strategies to ensure safeguarding of mothers and infants during crises should include enhancing service accessibility, emphasizing women-centered care, and prioritizing support systems for mothers and infants. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42022355948, identifier: CRD42022355948.

Indexed as

COVID-19Developed CountriesMaternal Health ServicesFemaleHumansPandemicsPregnancyQualitative ResearchSARS-CoV-2COVID-19high-income countriesmaternity carepregnancyqualitative researchsystematic reviewwomen

Identifiers

PMID42100531
PMCPMC13143912

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.