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).

In women affected by other coronavirus infections such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), the mortality rate appeared higher in women affected in pregnancy compared with non-pregnant women. COVID-19 prompted implementation of public health protocols to control the transmission of the virus, many of them required social distancing, hand washing, and lockdown procedures, but has also resulted in creating public anguish and massive fear, especially among the unaffected persons. Objectives: To assess pregnant women's knowledge about who can protect the baby during Brest feeding when mother infected by corona virus before and after implementation of instruction program and to determine the effectiveness of instruction program on pregnant women knowledge about protection methods of neonate during pandemic.

The corona virus disease (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly spread across the world and global population including children are facing unprecedented health crisis. The chance of vertical and perinatal transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus in children is not proven yet. The effect of the virus on neonate and infant appears to be small. On the other hand, pregnant women suffering from corona virus disease may give birth to premature or IUGR babies who will need extra care. Breast feeding is considered as gold standard in almost all situation. Continuation of breast feeding along with other essential services have reduced the risk of transmission of corona virus.

Available literature reveals that usage of Maternal Health Care Services (MHCSs), including antenatal care (ANC), has been decreased significantly in the developing countries due to Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the COVID-19 related factors on the MHCSs utilization in Bangladeshi women are yet to be examined. Therefore, this study examines the effect of COVID-19 on the use of ANC services among rural communities in Bangladesh.

On a population basis, this study assessed medical care for pregnant women in specific geographic regions of six countries before and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in relationship to pregnancy outcomes. It is a prospective, population-based study. Its setting are communities in Kenya, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, India, and Guatemala.

Pregnant women with COVID-19 are at increased risk for adverse maternal and pregnancy outcomes, and birth complications. Given the health outcome disparities among pregnant women of racial and ethnic minorities and the reliance of medical practice on systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs)—as they are the apical component in the hierarchy of evidence in medical research—the primary objective of the study is to examine the inclusion of the equity reporting in SRMAs focused on pregnancy outcomes and COVID-19 using PROGRESS-Plus equity framework. PROGRESS represents equity measures of Place, Race, Occupation, Gender, Religion, Education, Social capital, and Socio-economic status.

This systematic review summarizes current knowledges about maternal and neonatal outcomes following COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and breastfeeding.  PubMed, Cochrane Library, and the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) were searched up to 27 October 2021. The primary outcome was to estimate how many pregnant and lactating women were reported to be vaccinated and had available maternal and neonatal outcomes.

The objective of this scoping review is to determine to what extent the recommendations on perinatal care protect breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic. The review follows the PRISMA ScR Extension guidelines. The research was conducted in Scopus, Medline via Pubmed, and Web of Science databases from 1 March 2020 to 31 May 2021, using 392 combinations of keywords. The study searched for reviews and original papers published in English providing recommendations on delivery mode, companion during labor, the possibility of skin-to-skin contact (SSC), breastfeeding, and visitors policy. After screening, 86 out of 8416 publications qualified for data extraction. The majority of them indicated that COVID-19 infection is not a sufficient reason for a cesarean section; however, on a national level, cesarean births in severely ill patients were overrepresented.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were an increasing prevalence of perinatal psychiatric symptoms, such as perinatal anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorders. This growth could be caused by a range of direct and indirect stress factors related to the virus and changes in health, social and economic organization. This review explores the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal mental health, and proposes a range of hypothesis about their etiological mechanisms. It suggests first that the fear of being infected or infected others (intrauterine transmission, passage of the virus from mother to baby during childbirth, infection through breast milk), and the uncertainty about the effect of the virus on the fetuses and infants may have played a key-role to weakening the mental health of mothers. It also highlights that public health policies such as lockdown, limiting prenatal visits, social distancing measures, and their many associated socio-economic consequences (unemployment, loss of income, and domestic violence) may have been an additional challenge for perinatal mental health. Ground on these hypotheses, it finally purposes some recommendations to protect perinatal mental health during a pandemic, including a range of specific support based on digital technologies (video consultations, phone applications) during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Women’s ability to get sleep can be affected by pregnancy-related hormonal changes or other external stressful situations like the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The objective of this study was to assess the proportion of poor sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic and its determinants among pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) services. An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 women attending ANC services at the health facilities in Debre Berhan Town, Ethiopia, from May to June 2020. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select the required samples. The tool consisted of questions that assessed (1) socio-demographic characteristics, obstetric and health care service-related characteristics; and media exposure to get information regarding COVID-19 infection; (2) To assess sleep quality; the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was applied. And a global score of >5 indicates poor sleep quality, and a global score of ≤5 indicates good sleep quality.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the provision of essential reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) services in sub-Saharan Africa to varying degrees. Original models estimated as many as 1,157,000 additional child and 56,700 maternal deaths globally due to health service interruptions. To reduce potential impacts to populations related to RMNCH service delivery, national governments in Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zimbabwe swiftly issued policy guidelines related to essential RMNCH services during COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued recommendations to guide countries in preserving essential health services by June of 2020.

The World Health Organization indicated vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats to global health. The success of a vaccine depends not only on its efficacy but also on its acceptance. This study aims to define COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in a sample of pregnant and lactating women in Poland. Since mothers are often key decision-makers for whether their children will receive vaccination, it is vital to measure vaccine confidence among this group. An anonymous online survey was distributed to assess the level of acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant and lactating women for themselves and their children in Poland.