Children and COVID-19 Research Library

This study aimed to investigate the frequency of Postpartum Depression (PPD) and maternal attachment status in a region with a low socioeconomic level during the Covid-19 pandemic.Two hundred women who gave birth in our hospital were evaluated on postpartum 10th day with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Maternal Attachment Inventory (MBI).

Postpartum depression and maternal-infant attachment scores were examined in uninfected women during the COVID 19 pandemic in Kutahya, a rural province in Turkey's North Aegean region. This cohort study was conducted in the Kutahya Health Sciences University Hospital obstetrics unit between April 2021 and August 2021. 178 low-risk term pregnant women who gave birth were given the surveys Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale and Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBQ) 6 weeks after birth. The Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale was used to determine postpartum depression and the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale was used to determine maternal attachment.

In many settings, health care service provision has been modified to managing COVID-19 cases, and this has been affecting the provision of maternal and child health services. The aim of this study was to assess trends in selected maternal and child health services performance in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional data review was conducted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from April to May 2021. Routine health management information system database was reviewed from Addis Ababa Health Bureau for the period from July 2019 to March 2021 across all quarters. Proportion and mean with standard deviation were computed. T-test was used to assess statistically significant differences in services mean performance.

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has affected reproductive and perinatal health both through the infection itself and, indirectly, as a consequence of changes in medical care, social policy or social and economic circumstances. The objective of this study is to explore the impact of the pandemic and of the measures adopted on breastfeeding initiation and maintenance. A qualitative descriptive study was conducted by means in-depth semi-structured interviews, until reaching data saturation. The study was conducted between the months of January to May 2021. Participants were recruited by midwives from the Primary Care Centres of the Andalusian provinces provinces of Seville, Cádiz, Huelva, Granada, and Jaén. The interviews were conducted via phone call and were subsequently transcribed and analysed by means of reflexive inductive thematic analysis, using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis.

The COVID-2019 pandemic has placed extensive pressure on health systems and posed a severe public health challenge worldwide. Lockdown measures implemented in many countries have delayed virus spread. However, a considerable number of people have faced unprecedented pressure, especially pregnant and breast-feeding women, because face-to-face professional support has been reduced during the lockdown in many countries. This study aims to compare the delivery and infant feeding experiences of women who delivered before (BL) versus during (DL) the Covid-19 pandemic in Beijing, China and to investigate predictors of breastfeeding at 6-months. Women aged ≥18 years with an infant ≤18 months of age completed an anonymous survey. Information/links were shared online and via local clinics in Beijing. Logistic regression was performed to assess predictors of breastfeeding during the first 6-months.

The impact of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection remains unclear. This study evaluated the risk of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on birth outcomes and how this is modulated by the pregnancy trimester in which the infection occurs. It also developed models to predict gestational age at delivery for people following a SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy. This is a retrospective cohort study of the impact of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on birth outcomes. It used clinical data from Providence St Joseph Health electronic health records for pregnant people who delivered in the USA at the Providence, Swedish, or Kadlec sites in Alaska, California, Montana, Oregon, or Washington. The SARS-CoV-2 positive cohort included people who had a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR-based test during pregnancy, subdivided by trimester of infection. No one in this cohort had been vaccinated for COVID-19 at time of infection.

Conflicting reports of increases and decreases in rates of preterm birth (PTB) and stillbirth in the general population during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have surfaced. The objective of this study was to conduct a living systematic review and meta-analyses of studies reporting pregnancy and neonatal outcomes by comparing the pandemic and pre-pandemic periods. PubMed and Embase databases and reference lists of articles published up until November 20, 2021, and included English language studies that compared outcomes between the COVID-19 pandemic time period with pre-pandemic time periods were searched. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale.

Multiple changes and stressors at the family, hospital, and societal levels have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic that impact the early social environment of infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) settings. This manuscript reviews these pandemic-related adversities, including hospital-wide visitor restrictions, mask requirements that interfere with caregiver facial expressions, parental anxiety about virus transmission, and reduced support services. It will further describe adaptations to mental health service delivery and approaches to care in the NICU to mitigate increased risk associated with pandemic-related adversities. Adaptations include integration of technology, staff education and support, and delivery of activity kits to encourage parent–infant bonding. Data was collected as part of routine program evaluation of infant mental health services from one 50-bed NICU setting and describes family concerns, barriers to visitation, and utilization of mental health services during the pandemic.

This paper analyzes program activity for Family Connects (FC), an evidence-based postpartum home-visiting intervention, during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic began, FC transitioned to a virtual protocol which maintains key psychosocial components of the in-person protocol and adjusts health assessments to address the lack of in-person contact. Program performance is contrasted for periods before the pandemic onset (April 2019–March 2020) and after the onset (April 2020–March 2021), involving 10,280 scheduled visits and 6696 visited families (46% non-Hispanic white; 20% non-Hispanic Black; 23% Hispanic; and 10% other race). Post-pandemic onset, FC program participation rates were at 89.8% of pre-pandemic levels. Home visitors observed post-onset increases in families’ concerns about home safety but declines in families’ needs related to infant care. Community connections were facilitated for 42.9% of visited families post-pandemic onset compared to 51.1% pre-pandemic onset.

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between mental health symptoms, along with psychological experiences and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related concerns, and self-reported maternal–infant bonding experiences of postpartum women. Using data collected from May 19 to August 17, 2020, this cross-sectional online study assessed 429 women to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women during the postpartum period. Enrolled respondents were asked to participate in a 30–45-min online survey about COVID-19-related experiences, pregnancy, stress, and well-being.

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, international recommendations and guidelines regarding breastfeeding-supportive hospital practices changed frequently. For example, some recommended separation of mothers and infants; others, feeding pumped milk instead of milk fed directly from the breast. Many recommendations were inconsistent or in direct conflict with each other. Guidance from UENPS (the Union of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies) published in April 2020 recommended rooming in and direct breastfeeding where feasible, under strict measures of infection control, for women who were COVID-19 positive or under investigation for COVID-19.

COVID-19 has placed additional stressors on mothers during an already vulnerable lifecourse transition. Initial social distancing restrictions (Timepoint 1; T1) and initial changes to those social distancing restrictions (Timepoint 2; T2) have disrupted postpartum access to practical and emotional support. This qualitative study explores the postpartum psychological experiences of UK women during different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated ‘lockdowns’. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 women, approximately 30 days after initial social distancing guidelines were imposed in the UK (22 April 2020). A separate 12 women were interviewed approximately 30 days after the initial easing of social distancing restrictions (10 June 2020). Data were transcribed verbatim, uploaded into NVivo for management and analysis, which followed a recurrent cross-sectional approach to thematic analysis.

This study aims to examine the prevalence of postpartum depression and its relationship with social support adjusted for self-perceived impact of COVID-19 in parturient women admitted to a perinatal medical center in Japan. This cross-sectional study included 513 women who underwent a 1-month postpartum checkup between August 3 and November 27, 2020. Postpartum depression was measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Social support was measured using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and the score was dichotomized using the Youden index. Nineteen demographic and obstetric characteristics were also assessed.