The Godmother Project: A Virtual Initiative to Support Pregnant and Postpartum Women in Brazil During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic increased maternal distress and demand for social support and educational services, while restriction measures decreased the availability of these services. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The Godmother Project, a person-centered, WhatsApp-based support and health education initiative, was created after all in-person perinatal educational activities offered at 3 Brazilian hospitals were canceled in 2020. The project was developed in response to pregnant/postpartum women who called the hospitals with questions for health care professionals (HCPs). Health education nurses teamed up with staff from the communication department to design a project to (1) provide a direct communication channel between women and HCPs to answer health-related questions, (2) offer reliable virtual health education material, (3) identify women in need of additional assessment/referrals, (4) offer each woman continuous support from a specific nurse educator (Godmother), and (5) offer a virtual forum where women going through similar experiences could interact. PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND ROLLOUT The project provides direct communication between WhatsApp groups of 25-30 pregnant/postpartum women and a Godmother. It also offers access to a virtual library of educational materials prepared in response to women's needs/demands. The project, which began in July 2020 with 1 WhatsApp group of 5 women and 1 Godmother, currently has 305 groups, 6,942 active participants, and 4 Godmothers. Enrollments and WhatsApp groups continued to increase despite reestablishment of in-person educational activities in 2022. The vast majority of 232 participants surveyed in December 2021 were very satisfied with the project, the Godmothers, and the educational materials. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that WhatsApp groups of pregnant/postpartum women led by dedicated nurse educators can be an important tool to educate and support women during the perinatal period. This type of initiative may be especially important in contexts of physical distancing requirements or situations where social support is unavailable.