Maternal mental health in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic: a neglected global health issue.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has profoundly impacted mental health and well-being around the globe. Public health measures to control the virus's rapid spread, such as physical distancing, social isolation, lockdown, restricted movements, and quarantine, caused fear and panic in the general population. Although pandemic-related stressors have been reported, changes that occur during the perinatal period compounded by those made to obstetric care guidelines may put pregnant and postpartum mothers at an increased risk of poor mental health. While an abundance of research has examined the impact of the pandemic on maternal mental health in developed nations such as Europe and America, very few studies have done so in the African continent. Considering that Africa has prominently weak health systems, poor mental health policies and infrastructure, high poverty rates, and unreliable maternal care, the pandemic is expected to have dire consequences on maternal mental health in the region. As such, multipronged mental health interventions and strategies that consider the heterogeneity within and between African regions must be developed. Doing so will close existing and widening global health disparities to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Meeting the Mental Health Needs of College Student-Mothers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is the deadliest public health emergency in the twenty-first century. To mitigate the rapid spread of the virus, institutions around the globe, including higher education, instituted infection control measures such as social distancing and restricted movements with virtual/remote work and learning environments. These changes, including the pandemic-related stressors, are associated with poor mental health among college students. However, student-mothers may encounter an aggravated psychological impact of the pandemic because of their competing and challenging intersecting roles. Multipronged strategies and targeted-mental health services that consider the needs of student-mothers, their children, and families are encouraged to mitigate the pandemic’s impact. Doing so has important implications for public health, policy, and research.

Narrative Analysis of Childbearing Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted health care delivery and services around the world causing rapid changes to maternity care protocols and pregnant women to give birth with tight restrictions and significant uncertainties. There is a gap in evidence about expectant and new mothers' experiences with birthing during the pandemic. We sought to describe and understand pregnant and new mothers' lived experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic using authentic birth stories. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Using a narrative analysis framework, we extracted relevant YouTube birth stories using predetermined search terms and inclusion criteria. Mothers' birth stories were narrated in their second or third trimester or those who had recently given birth during the pandemic. Birth stories were analyzed using an inductive and deductive approach to capture different and salient aspects of the birthing experience. RESULTS: N = 83 birth stories were analyzed. Within these birth stories, four broad themes and 13 subthemes were identified. Key themes included a sense of loss, hospital experiences, experiences with health care providers, and unique experiences during birth and postpartum. The birth stories revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic brought unexpected circumstances, both positive and negative, that had an impact on mothers' overall birthing experience. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Results provided a detailed description of women's lived experience with giving birth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Maternity nurses should try to provide clear communication and compassionate patient-centered care to relieve women's anxieties about uncertain and unpredictable policy changes on COVID-19 as the pandemic continues to evolve.

Childhood immunization during the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas.

In 2020, the state of Texas implemented coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) social distancing guidelines in order to prevent surges at Texas hospital emergency rooms and in intensive care units. As noted in other states, an unintended consequence of these activities was significant declines in childhood immunizations. After analyzing state-wide immunization register data for Texas, we observed a 47% relative decline in immunization rates between 2019 and 2020 among 5-month-olds and a 58% decline among 16-month-olds. We observed a small decline (5%) among 24-month-olds, and no decline in vaccines received at birth (Hepatitis B). Declines were larger in rural counties compared to urban. These declines are superimposed on increases in state vaccine exemptions over the last five years due to an aggressive anti-vaccine movement in Texas. There are concerns that continued declines in childhood immunization coverage due to COVID-19 could lead to co-endemics of measles and other vaccine preventable diseases.