Childbirth experience and practice changing during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.
Annalisa Inversetti, Simona Fumagalli, Antonella Nespoli and 4 others
PMID 34002943WHAT IT FOUND
During early COVID, 100 mothers reported birth satisfaction similar to 277 women before the pandemic, despite more inductions, oxytocin, and less one-to-one support.
Active labour longer than 12 hours and caesarean in labour had the lowest scores.
Key findings
01Mothers who delivered during COVID had similar overall birth satisfaction to mothers who delivered before the pandemic.
02COVID-era birth involved less antenatal class attendance, more induction and oxytocin, and reduced one-to-one midwifery support, mobility, and intermittent fetal auscultation.
03In the COVID cohort, women with active labour longer than 12 hours or caesarean in labour had the lowest satisfaction scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was done in one low-risk maternity unit, so it may not apply to higher-risk births or other hospitals. The COVID group was small, with 100 women, and was compared with a 2018 group rather than a concurrent group. Women were recruited until the first half of May 2020, when the emergency burden was starting to decrease, which may make the period feel less severe than earlier weeks. Women with COVID symptoms or a positive swab, pre-labour caesarean, previous caesarean, pre-term or post-term birth, severe medical conditions, language barrier, or newborns needing resuscitation were excluded. Satisfaction was self-reported at least 24 hours after delivery, not during labour.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that reduced one-to-one support, mobility, and intermittent auscultation were harmless because overall satisfaction did not change. The study found lower satisfaction scores with induction, long active labour, and caesarean in labour, and many women complained about birth partner restrictions.