Mental Health & Parental Concerns during COVID-19: The Experiences of New Mothers Amidst Social Isolation.
Rachel Ollivier, Dr Megan Aston, Dr Sheri Price and 5 others
PMID 33421662WHAT IT FOUND
New mothers in Nova Scotia said pandemic isolation left them feeling abandoned, anxious, and unsupported, and online contact only partly replaced lost mom groups and in-person support.
Key findings
01Mothers described their postpartum mental health experiences as negative, naming loss of socialization, isolation from loved ones, compounded stress, and pre-existing mental health issues.
02Mothers described feeling abandoned when public health nursing and breastfeeding follow-up shifted to phone contact or ended.
03Online contact helped some mothers stay connected, but many said it did not replace in-person contact and could add pressure.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Responses came from a self-selected online survey, so mothers who felt strongly about pandemic restrictions may have been more likely to take part. All participants were mothers, and most were Caucasian, partnered, and urban, so the findings may not reflect fathers, grandparents, rural families, or parents from different backgrounds. Mental health was explored through open-ended questions, not validated assessment tools, so the study describes experiences rather than measuring conditions or severity. The study covered only Nova Scotia during the first wave, so its relevance to other places or later pandemic phases is limited.
Declared interests
No funding was declared, and the authors reported no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that phone-only or reduced in-person postpartum care caused mental health problems. The study asked mothers to describe their experiences, used no comparison group or validated mental health measures, and included only a self-selected sample of mothers in Nova Scotia.