Childbirth and Newborn Care During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: Stories from Parents and Healthcare Workers

• In Event: Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Topic - Solicited Content: COVID-19 Related

Abstract

Immediately following childbirth, mothers and their newborns are inherently interactive and strive to form affectionate ties with each other. Social behaviors occurring during the neonatal period have been tied to healthy patterns of brain development. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has influenced parents and healthcare personnel by changing mother-infant interactive encounters (especially for care taking practices that involve both participants, i.e., breastfeeding, skin-to-skin care, etc.). Similarly, mother-healthcare personnel interactions used in the support of infant care practices during and following childbirth have also been impacted. While caution in encounters between parents and newborns may be warranted for those families exposed to the virus, in other cases, parents may be affected by these precautions even when not exposed. For example, for parents who choose to have hospital births, the parents’ interactions with their infants have been restricted as some families may be concerned not only about their own exposure but may be concerned about going to the hospital where others exposed to the virus are seeking care. Notably, some parents may even choose to have their babies at home due to concerns about pandemic impacts on hospitals/birthing centers and therefore, maternity services could also be affected by avoidance of going to the hospital. It is our goal to collect and analyze the stories that parents and healthcare/maternity services personnel have had regarding their experiences during the prenatal and postnatal time period. In particular we were interested in collecting stories of the birthing experiences of parents via online posts, blogs, etc. and of health care personnel on how the pandemic has changed their delivery of maternity services. This is a qualitative study of stories that have been collected on how early social interactions (between mothers and infants as well as between mothers and maternity/health services personnel) have been influenced by the pandemic. The data will be analyzed by using content analyses to assess and uncover common themes that have occurred for parents and health care workers. The focus of this project is to examine stories that particularly reflect mother-infant interactive experiences and the health care/maternity services workers’ (i.e., neonatal nurses, lactations consultants, etc.) support of standard feeding and care taking practices that promote bonding between mothers and infants and how these have changed during the pandemic. These findings will support parents and hospital policies into the future, as there may have been barriers that prevented early interactive care between families that could impact later infant development. In addition, parents and hospital staff have likely have stories of diligent work designed to attenuate effects of the pandemic on families during the perinatal and postnatal periods. These data are feasible to collect and analyze as stories of these experiences are part of the public record of the pandemic. The content analysis that will be performed is achievable to do before the conference meeting. In addition, the authors are experienced in using qualitative designs and content analysis which can be accomplished within a few months.

Authors

• Nancy Aaron Jones, Florida Atlantic University
  Presenting Author

• Joy Longo, Florida Atlantic University
  Non-Presenting Author