Introduction
Background
The case of Cyprus
Aim
Methods
Measures
Data collection
Data analysis
Results
All participants | Pregnant women | Postpartum women | p value | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age | 18-25 | 2.1% | 1.8% | 2.5% | 0.056a |
26-35 | 72,2% | 77.3% | 67.4% | ||
36-45 | 25.7% | 20.9% | 30.1% | ||
Country of Origin | Cyprus | 92.3% | 92.1% | 92.5% | 0.868b |
Other | 7.7% | 7.9% | 7.5% | ||
Highest level of education | Secondary school/ High school | 4.4% | 3.7% | 5.1% | 0.056a |
Partial university studies | 6.3% | 7.9% | 4.7% | ||
University studies (undergraduate) | 37.8% | 41.1% | 34.6% | ||
Master or Doctorate | 50.9% | 46.1% | 55.5% | ||
Other | 0.6% | 1.2% | |||
Relationship status | Single | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.583a |
Partnered/engaged or living as a couple | 17.0% | 19.1% | 15.0% | ||
Married | 82.0% | 79.7% | 84.3% | ||
Separated or divorced | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.4% | ||
Residence | Owned (paid in full) | 42.6% | 40.4% | 44.7% | 0.536a |
Owned (paying mortgage) | 21.6% | 20.4% | 22.8% | ||
Rented | 27.0% | 28.1% | 26.0% | ||
Living with parents | 6.9% | 8.9% | 4.9% | ||
Living with others | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.6% | ||
Other | 0.4% | 0.9% |
Impact on life and stress levels
All participants | Pregnant women | Postpartum women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | p value | |
Impact on child | 23.5 | 23 | 24 | 0.764a |
Health concerns | 20.2 | 17.5 | 22.9 | 0.106a |
Financial concerns | 17.8 | 19 | 16.7 | 0.484a |
Impact on family members (e.g. elderly parents) | 14.5 | 17.1 | 12 | 0.106a |
General well-being due to social distancing and/or quarantine | 9.9 | 10.4 | 9.5 | 0.689a |
Levels of distress (1 = no distress, 7 = highly distressing | All participants | Pregnant women | Postpartum women | |
---|---|---|---|---|
M(SD) | M(SD) | M(SD) | p value* | |
Own COVID-19 related symptoms or potential illness | 4.02 (2.17) | 4.05 (2.16) | 4.00 (2.18) | 0.756 |
COVID-19 related symptoms or potential illness in friends and family | 4.96 (1.89) | 4.92 (1.89) | 4.99 (1.89) | 0.595 |
Employment and financial impact | 5.39 (1.73) | 5.4 (1.74) | 5.38 (1.73) | 0.829 |
Disruptions to social support | 4.23 (2.02) | 4.23 (1.97) | 4.24 (2.07) | 0.923 |
Perinatal care experiences
Pregnant Women’s concerns: support and involvement of family and friends, Child’s health, and intrapartum care
“It is understandable and expected that visits will be limited, but at least I would like to ensure that my husband will be present and I don’t even want to think about the possibility of giving birth entirely alone” (Participant #44).
“It is hard not to have the loved ones next to you and especially my other children not to be able to visit us (Participant #165)”
“Not even the grandparents of the baby will be allowed to visit [during the hospital stay], stress and anxiety due to self-isolation at home as we will not be accepting visits even from the closest relatives (Participant #379)”
“To be alone during the times that I need support” (Participant #278),
“Isolation at home, without visits and without practical advice about the care of the newborn” (Participant #659).
“Especially during the first days, I will be very afraid to go out with the baby and I wouldn’t want friends and family members to kiss it” (Participant #450).
“In case I get it, how will it affect the health of the baby [fetus]? In case the baby gets it after birth, how much will it [the baby] suffer and what are the consequences on the baby’s health?” (Participant #609)
“We hear so much, I don’t know what is right, what is reliable or not” (Participant #648).
“[I worry about the baby] getting infected due to carelessness of the clinic’s staff, or due to insufficient disinfection of the place.” (Participant #497)
“[I worry] that the people in the maternity ward (midwives, doctor) who will be in contact with my baby might have the virus. It upsets me that I have to get tested before I enter the place [ward] – will they get tested before coming in contact with me and my baby since they come in contact with so many people daily?” (Participant #520)
“If I am positive I must change my doctor and give birth in a public hospital with a doctor that I have never met before” (Participant #358).
“I am afraid they may try to force me to go through a caesarean section” (Participant #432).
“If there is a complication due to covid that is new to the doctors and doctors do not know how to react” (Participant #312),
“I worry that I will be discharged sooner than normal” (Participant #450)
“[Healthcare professionals] not so meticulous and give the due attention” (Participant #405)
“Not so much attention to the needs of the mother and the baby” (Participant #278)
“Because of the coronavirus, for quite some time during labor, I didn’t have any help from the midwives because they didn’t have enough uniforms to wear and to be with me in the room. They were watching standing outside the door.” (Participant #565)
“The midwives were very careless because there were several births at the same time and not enough personnel, resulting in not notifying the doctor on time and not believing me when I was telling them I was having the baby until the baby came out!” (Participant #127)
“I worry in case my husband is not allowed to be with us. Also, due to increased chances [I have], to give birth prematurely and the baby to be transferred to urgent care, I am particularly worried about the decrease of the already few, even before Covid, opportunities to be close to my baby. Another worry is that in the event that I am positive to the virus, the protocol followed, if I am not mistaken, dictates the complete separation of the baby from his/ her mother until the test eventually shows a negative result” (Participant #636)
“I worry that due to the virus I will be alone in the maternity ward without my husband. I also worry in case I am tested positive during the prenatal test and I will have to give birth alone, in another city, and also separated from the infant” (Participant #177)
Postpartum Women’s concerns: Child’s health and care
“Will it influence his development?” (Participant #314)
“How serious is this disease and does it have consequences for those who have been infected?” (Participant #101)
“There have been cases where infants also developed Kawasaki’s disease after Covid. Perhaps we don’t know exactly what is happening with this specific virus, the age of infants [its relation to age] and the dangerousness of the combination of the two” (Participant #86)
“[I worry] that the baby will develop an autoimmune disease as a result of the virus” (Participant #119)
“If it [the baby] gets sick, what will the treatment be and will I be able to care for it?” (Participant #28)
“[I am concerned about] the limitations in socialization and development activities e.g. stimulation from nature, playgrounds, swimming etc. (Participant #14)
“How will my child develop in a world where everyone wears a mask and everyone is afraid of other people?” (Participant #418)
“In case I get covid, who is going to take care of my baby and for how long do I have to stay in quarantine?” (Participant #401)
“[I am worried] whether I will have easy access to the pediatrician in case something happens to the baby” (Participant #449)
“[My concerns] mainly involve the case of quarantine/ separation from the baby and the forced cessation of breastfeeding due to the current protocols in Cyprus” (Participant #336)
“Where will I leave the baby when I return to work? Do I trust the nursery school? Will the rest of the parents be as careful as I am?” (Participant #688)
“I worry that we will be locked inside the house again and the grandmothers will not be able to help [with the care of my baby girl] so that I will be able to work. I worry that we will not be comfortable financially to meet her needs, since the nature of my work is such that in case of a lockdown it will be terminated” (Participant #408)
Women’s needs during the perinatal period
“The state [should] support homebirth. In a low-risk pregnancy, there is no reason during a pandemic for a pregnant woman and a newborn to be exposed to the risks that exist in hospitals and clinics” (Participant #432)