"It's always hard being a mom, but the pandemic has made everything harder": A qualitative exploration of the experiences of perinatal women during the COVID-19 pandemic.
P Kinser, N Jallo, S Moyer and 5 others
PMID 35334379WHAT IT FOUND
Pregnant and postpartum women described pandemic uncertainty as making usual motherhood stress harder, with lost support, decision fatigue, and gaps in mental health and postpartum care.
Key findings
01Women described pandemic uncertainty as compounding the usual loss of control in the perinatal period, producing pervasive stress, anxiety, and sometimes depressive symptoms.
02They reported grief over lost in-person support and difficulty accessing formal perinatal mental-health resources.
03Many women said getting children outside and exercise helped them cope, but several participants were struggling.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Most participants were white and partnered, and recruitment relied on social media, so the findings may not represent women of other racial, marital, or socioeconomic backgrounds. Only one participant was pregnant at the time of interview, so the findings mainly reflect postpartum women's experiences. Each woman was interviewed only once, so the study may not capture how experiences changed as the pandemic changed. The paper does not report participants' exact locations, so rural versus urban and regional differences are unknown. The study is qualitative, so it describes experiences and suggestions, not whether any care model improves outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the themes as proof that any care model works or that all pregnant and postpartum women experienced the same distress. This is a one-time qualitative interview study of mostly white, partnered U.S. women, so it describes experiences and unmet needs rather than testing care.