Women's experience of perinatal support in a high migrant Australian population during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed methods study.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth
; 23(1): 429, 2023 Jun 09.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-20239634
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
As a COVID-19 risk mitigation measure, Australia closed its international borders for two years with significant socioeconomic disruption including impacting approximately 30% of the Australian population who are migrants. Migrant populations during the peripartum often rely on overseas relatives visiting for social support. High quality social support is known to lead to improved health outcomes with disruption to support a recognised health risk.AIM:
To explore women's experience of peripartum social support during the COVID-19 pandemic in a high migrant population. To quantify type and frequency of support to identify characteristics of vulnerable perinatal populations for future pandemic preparedness.METHODS:
A mixed methods study with semi-structured interviews and a quantitative survey was conducted from October 2020 to April 2021. A thematic approach was used for analysis.RESULTS:
There were 24 participants interviewed both antenatally and postnatally (22 antenatal; 18 postnatal). Fourteen women were migrants and 10 Australian born. Main themes included; 'Significant disruption and loss of peripartum support during the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing impact for migrant women'; 'Husbands/partners filling the support gap' and 'Holding on by a virtual thread'. Half of the participants felt unsupported antenatally. For Australian born women, this dissipated postnatally, but migrants continued to feel unsupported. Migrant women discussed partners stepped into traditional roles and duties of absent mothers and mothers-in-law who were only available virtually.CONCLUSION:
This study identified disrupted social support for migrant women during the pandemic, providing further evidence that the pandemic has disproportionately impacted migrant populations. However, the benefits identified in this study included high use of virtual support, which could be leveraged for improving clinical care in the present and in future pandemics. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted most women's peripartum social support with migrant families having ongoing disruption. Gains in the pandemic included greater gender equity for domestic work as husbands/partners increased their contribution to domestic work and childcare.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Transients and Migrants
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Country/Region as subject:
Oceania
Language:
English
Journal:
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth
Journal subject:
Obstetrics
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S12884-023-05745-9
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