Antenatal Care During COVID-19 Pandemic Example Paper
Antenatal Care During COVID-19 Pandemic Example Paper
Abstract
Antenatal care is critical since it guarantees pregnant women’s good well-being, including their unborn. Antenatal care concentrates on vital body nutrients and illnesses that might put the life of the unborn and that of the mother at risk. However, COVID-19 has increased the risk of giving birth to an unhealthy baby or one with the virus. As a result, the virus outbreak influenced antenatal care services delivery changes. In this respect, this research focused on discovering the ante-natal services accessible during the COVID-19 pandemic while finding out how consistently England women utilized them. The study used thematic analysis in deriving the results, and this involved looking for materials having data relating to antenatal care services provided during the COVID-19 pandemic and critically analyzing them to guarantee the presentation of accurate data. From the analysis of the existing study, the pandemic led to the introduction of online antenatal services, and women in England embraced the new approach.
Introduction
Antenatal care is critical in safeguarding pregnant women and their unborn, considering that it guarantees that the pregnancy does not risk the woman’s well-being and that of the fetus. In this respect, through antenatal care, women learn from skilled healthcare professionals about healthy behaviors and warning signs during pregnancy while receiving psychological, emotional, and social support during this vital time (Ali et al., 2018). Antenatal Care During COVID-19 Pandemic Example PaperThis data shows that antenatal care involves educating pregnant women while monitoring their well-being. In this respect, the trained health care professionals include practitioners who have been trained and educated on ways to manage complicated and uncomplicated pregnancies. Additionally, antenatal care ensures that pregnant women access micronutrient supplements and hypertension treatment to prevent eclampsia, including tetanus immunization (WHO, 2020). In this respect, WHO presents that some of the services acquired in antenatal care include HIV testing and medications administration to prevent mother-to-child transmission in case of exposure. Additionally, pregnant women are offered malaria medications and insecticide-treated mosquito nets if they live in malaria-endemic areas.
Antenatal visits present chances of educating and providing interventions to pregnant women, and WHO (2020) recommends a minimum of 4 appointments depending on the effectiveness of contradicting model utilized in antenatal care. During the visits, healthcare practitioners focus on blood pressure, proteinuria and bacteriuria in urine, blood testing to identify severe anemia and syphilis, and height/weight measurements (Ali et al., 2018). It is estimated that 25 % of maternal deaths occur during pregnancy, with variability contradicting depending on diseases, violence, and unsafe abortions prevalent in a region (WHO, 2020). This data justifies the need to focus on antenatal care, considering that its ignorance might contribute to a high death rate among pregnant women, especially those with little knowledge of risky behaviors that pose a significant risk to their lives. Additionally, statistics show that between a third and a half of maternal deaths are attributed to hypertension, especially eclampsia and pre-eclampsia, and antepartum hemorrhage, linked to insufficient care during pregnancy (WHO, 2020). In this context, particular pre-existing conditions become severe throughout the pregnancy period. These conditions contribute to maternal and unborn complications, resulting in miscarriage and even death.
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Approximately 900,000 stillbirths occur every year during the last eleven weeks of pregnancy (Lindegren et al., 2021). This data validates the existence of unborn stillbirth, and the causes include pregnancy complications and maternal infections, such as syphilis. In this context, the fetus is prone to problems restricting its growth, and to some extent, they contribute to preterm birth. Antenatal care is critical to a child’s development even after birth since some factors such as fetal alcohol syndrome and congenital infections impact the baby’s growth. The community, family, and social beliefs significantly impact well-being during pregnancy, either negatively or positively (WHO, 2020). In this respect, some communities’ culture promotes rest and exceptional food for pregnant women. However, some communities do not acknowledge pregnant women to the extent they are isolated till they give birth. In instances of traditional taboos, women might deprive of essential nutrients, contributing to deficiencies in vitamins, proteins, and iron, affecting fetus growth.
There is a need to identify and survey pregnant women and their unborn while recognizing and managing pregnancy-related complications, especially pre-eclampsia. This approach guarantees treatment and recognition of concurrent and underlying illnesses associated with pregnancy. During the care, screening for diseases and conditions such as STI, anemia, mental issues, and stress is done to guarantee the unborn well-being and that of their mother (Ali et al., 2018). Additionally, preventive measures including de-worming, tetanus toxoid immunization, and getting folic acid and iron supplements are performed to promote the health of unborn babies. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, some medical officers have argued that expectant women are at high risk of having illnesses attributable to the virus (Coxon et al., 2020). In this context, World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet developed a specific procedure for treating the virus (Coxon et al., 2020). As a result, healthcare professionals deal with the exhibiting symptoms of the virus, influencing pregnant women to be cautious about COVID transmission. Moreover, COVID-19 symptoms endanger the unborn child’s health since the virus affects the mother’s normal body functioning (Coxon et al., 2020). Therefore, it is critical to focus on ante-natal services available to women during the COVID -19 period and how consistently women in England utilize them. In this respect, the research aims to discover the ante-natal services accessible during the COVID-19 pandemic and how consistently England women used them. The objectives of the study will be;
- What are the ante-natal services available during the COVID-19 period?
- Did women in England utilize the ante-natal services, and how frequently?
Presentation and Evaluation of Data
The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the advancement in online antenatal services for pregnant mothers, and the approach got a positive response in the U.K, including England. Chatwin et al. (2021) study investigated the experiences of those expectant mothers utilizing the National Health Service (NHS) social media-based antenatal support services at the early COVID-19 stages in the U.K. Antenatal Care During COVID-19 Pandemic Example Paper To achieve the study’s objectives, the authors designed an online survey with an open-ended question and two closed questions administered to pregnant women utilizing online services for the first three weeks after a lockdown in the U.K. The research involved 320 women, and 156 completed the questions relating to ease of contact, relative antenatal care level, information access, and frequency of use (Chatwin et al., 2021). In this case, the study involved information verification and provision, reducing and managing isolation feelings, and the impact of routine care. The authors utilized thematic analysis for analyzing open-ended responses and descriptive statistics in analyzing closed question data. The research findings showed that pregnant women embraced the social media approach in getting antenatal support and care during the coronavirus pandemic.
As a response to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, U.K. maternity services have changed service delivery. Stacey et al. (2021) research explored users’, as well as their spouses’, experiences in maternity services utilization during the epidemic in the North of England. The authors involved 606 respondents who completed survey questions in August 2020, and the data collected were analyzed through content analysis and descriptive analysis. The findings showed that the respondent valued support from healthcare professionals, and they felt let down and lost by the new system, in-person contact is not the same as virtual contact, and the need for psychological and emotional well-being. These findings from Stacey et al. (2021) indicated that the changes in maternity services compromised mental well-being during the critical vulnerability period. Therefore, the research implies changes in antenatal services that involved an increment in virtual contact in England due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The COVID-19 epidemic influenced virtual antenatal care implementation to keep pregnant mothers safe, and the change was embraced by patients in the U.K, including England. Quinn et al.’s (2021) research focused on evaluating professionals’ and patient’s experiences with virtual consultations during the coronavirus epidemic to verify on fulfillment and question the quality and safety of the care received. In this research, the authors engaged 148 women who had taken part in virtual clinical appointments at the U.K. obstetric care center, and 92 people provided feedback. Moreover, the authors involved 37 healthcare professionals (HCPs) who took part in delivering virtual antenatal care clinics. The results indicated that pregnant mothers were delighted with virtual clinics, with the majority of the respondents rating their experience as good and very good. However, 83 women respondents presented that they preferred face-to-face appointments while 65 preferred virtual services. For HCPs, 39 practitioners explained that virtual clinic experiences were better than face-to-face engagements. Besides, 18 HCPs indicated that it is easy to adapt to virtual clinics and said that the approach should be executed long-term. Therefore, the epidemic influenced antenatal care digitalization in the U.K., including England, and pregnant women and healthcare practitioners demonstrated high satisfaction with the new approach.
Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced antenatal care services delivery change, including gynecology and obstetrics services across the United Kingdom. In this context, Rimmer et al.’s (2020) study focused on disruptions of health care services due to the coronavirus epidemic. In particular, the case study concentrated on women’s health care among units in U.K.’s National Health Services. The authors’ involved junior doctors in gynecology and obstetrics, and U.K’s Audit and Research members interviewed the participants. The questionnaire included both open-ended comments and closed-ended questions, and thematic framework analysis and quantitative analysis methods were utilized to analyze the data. The results from 148 respondents, where most of the participants were in their 3-7 years of training, showed that they implemented COVID-19 protocols when providing and most units condensed face-to-face antenatal clinics (Rimmer et al., 2020). In this respect, COVID-19 influenced the healthcare sector in the U.K. to change their delivery of services, including gynecology and obstetrics, for the segment to be in line with the virus guidelines. Therefore, the coronavirus pandemic contributed to changes in delivering antenatal care services in the U.K., including England.
Additionally, the COVID-19 epidemic has an insightful blow on health care systems globally, and it is linked with adverse fetal and maternal outcomes. In this context, Townsend et al.’s (2021) research aimed at assessing the changes in maternity healthcare conditions and expectant mothers’ experiences seeking healthcare during the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic. In this respect, the study involved a meta-analysis and systematic review of studies that involved the epidemic’s effects on access, attendance, and provision of maternity services. In this respect, the authors searched information from Embase and MEDLINE per PRISMA protocols from January 2020 to April 2021 for controlled research letters and observational studies reporting primary data that compares healthcare delivery and maternity healthcare-seeking before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Random-effects meta-analysis, i
