The Lived Experiences of Women without COVID-19 in Breastfeeding Their Infants during the Pandemic: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in 2020 has led to several changes and disturbances in the daily lives of the general public. Particularly for new (first-time) mothers, there has been a significant impact on the practices of raising and feeding their babies. Social distancing measures everywhere have made mothers hesitant to breastfeed their babies anywhere else but at home. Combined with the fear of being infected with COVID-19, the present situation has created unprecedented barriers for breastfeeding mothers to accessing various types of support: emotional, instrumental, informational, and appraisal. There has been no research on the influence of the pandemic on social support regarding breastfeeding in Hong Kong. This study aimed to explore the social support and impact of COVID-19 on mothers breastfeeding their babies. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 currently breastfeeding women in Hong Kong. Colaizzi's seven-step method was used for data analysis. Two key themes emerged from the interview data: (1) positive influences on breastfeeding support during COVID-19 and (2) negative influences on breastfeeding support during COVID-19. Our findings may help mothers prepare to breastfeed their babies in places other than their homes.

Birth and Breastfeeding in the Hospital Setting during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

For new families giving birth in a hospital setting, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented numerous challenges to their birth, breastfeeding, and postpartum experiences. We present experiences of three first-time, healthy mothers and their babies, as they gave birth in the hospital and were breastfeeding during the start of the pandemic in Philadelphia, PA. Each case is framed in the mother's prenatal goals, infant feeding intentions, birth, breastfeeding, and postpartum experiences. Shared concerns and experiences among the three participants are described in five key areas: 1) Recommendations changing every day, 2) Guilt, concern, and stress, 3) In-person versus telehealth visits, 4) Missing time with family and friends, and 5) Silver linings. Through these mothers' experiences, nurses and other health care providers can learn from their perceptions and events and proactively work to ensure we provide sound anticipatory guidance, enhance our communication, and improve provision of evidence-based lactation care and support.

"Anxious and traumatised": Users' experiences of maternity care in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic saw universal, radical, and ultra-rapid changes to UK National Health Services (NHS) maternity care. At the onset of the pandemic, NHS maternity services were stripped of many of the features which support woman and family centred care. In anticipation of unknown numbers of pregnant women and maternity staff potentially sick with COVID-19, services were pared back to the minimum level considered to be required to keep women and their babies safe. The aim of this survey was to understand the impact of COVID-19 public health messaging and pandemic-related service changes on users of maternity care in the UK during the pandemic. METHODS: We conducted an online survey to explore user's experiences of COVID-19 public health messaging and 'socially-distanced' maternity care across the UK. The study population consisted of women who had experienced pregnancy after the 11th March 2020 (when the WHO declared a pandemic), whether or not they were still pregnant. We collected data between June and September 2020. We used framework analysis for the free-text data and generated descriptive statistics. FINDINGS: Women were generally happy to adopt a precautionary approach and stringently social distance in the context of a relatively unknown pathogen and in an environment of extreme anxiety and uncertainty, but were acutely aware of the negative impacts. The survey found that the widespread changes to services caused unintended negative consequences including essential clinical care being missed, confusion over advice, and distress and emotional trauma for women. COVID-19 restrictions have resulted in women feeling their antenatal and postnatal care to be inadequate and has also come at great emotional cost to users. Women reported feeling isolated and sad in the postnatal period, but also frustrated and upset by a lack of staff to help them care for their new baby. KEY CONCLUSIONS: With growing evidence of the impact of the virus on pregnant women and an increased understanding of the unintended consequences of unclear public health messaging and overly precautious services, a more nuanced, evidence-based approach to caring for women during a pandemic must be prioritised. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: All maternity services should ensure they have clear lines of communication with women to keep them updated on changing care and visiting arrangements. Services should ensure that opportunities to provide safe face-to-face care and access for birth partners and visitors are maximised.