Care in the time of COVID: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the impact of COVID-19 control measures on post-partum mothers' experiences of pregnancy, birth and the health system

Women's views and experiences of breastfeeding during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A systematic review of qualitative evidence

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic affected breastfeeding women in various ways. Understanding their experiences during the pandemic is crucial for informing actionable recommendations, evidence-based strategies and future policies to support breastfeeding during global pandemics. This review aimed to synthesise qualitative evidence on women's breastfeeding perceptions, experiences and support needs during the pandemic. The Joanna Briggs Institute's (JBI) guidelines on systematic reviews of qualitative evidence were followed. MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science Core Collection databases were searched. Methodological quality of included papers was assessed using JBI's checklist for qualitative research. The synthesised findings were generated using JBI's meta-aggregation approach. The JBI ConQual process was used to rank each synthesised finding. Fifty-two papers were included. The synthesised findings included: (1) women's awareness and commitment to breastfeeding during the pandemic, (2) the multifaceted breastfeeding experiences of women during the pandemic, (3) breastfeeding practices and challenges for working women, (4) professional support during the pandemic: navigating breastfeeding in an evolving health care context and (5) family and peer support groups during the challenging times of the pandemic. Breastfeeding women require clear information, accessible in-person lactation support, family emotional support, food security and protection of psychological well-being. The review reported diverse breastfeeding experiences, from social support challenges to positive aspects like remote work. Breastfeeding support and lactation consultants should be considered as essential services in future pandemics. Food security is crucial for breastfeeding households. Lactation services could prioritise face-to-face consultations for physical challenges and providing online informational support. Future research could explore innovative breastfeeding education strategies.

An investigation of mHealth and digital health literacy among new parents during COVID-19

Introduction

Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, parents were expected to understand increasingly sophisticated information about health issues and healthcare systems and access online resources as a part of their caregiving role. Yet little is known about parents' online digital technology use and digital health literacy skill. This study aimed to investigate parents' digital technology use, their self-reported digital health literacy skill, and demographic information as potential factors influencing their use of digital technologies.

Methods

An online survey utilizing convenience sampling was administered to new parents during the COVID-19 pandemic that inquired about their demographic information, digital technology use, and digital health literacy skills within Ontario, Canada.

Results

A total of 151 individuals responded to the survey; these were primarily mothers (80%) who self-reported as white (72%), well-educated 86%), heterosexual (86%) females (85%) with incomes over $100,00 per year (48%). Participants reported consistent and persistent online activity related to their parenting role and mostly via mobile smartphone devices (92%). Participants had moderate to high digital health literacy skills, greater than the Canadian national average. Almost half of participants reported negative health and well-being consequences from their digital online behaviours. There were no significant relationships between technology use, digital health literacy skill, and demographic variables.

Discussion

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need for and importance of effective and equitable digital health services. Important opportunities exist within clinical practice and among parenting groups to proactively address the physical and mental health implications of digital parenting practices. Equally important are opportunities to insert into clinical workflow the inquiry into parents' online information-seeking behaviours, and to include digital health literacy as part of prenatal/postnatal health education initiatives.

'She was hungry'-Croatian mothers' reasons for supplementing their healthy, term babies with formula during the birth hospitalisation

AIM

To explore why Croatian mothers request formula for their healthy, term newborn infants during the postnatal hospital stay.

METHODS

Four focus groups discussions were conducted with a total of 25 women who gave birth to healthy newborn infants, between May and June 2021 in Split, Croatia. A homogenous, non-random purposive sampling technique was used. The semi-structured interview schedule contained 15 open-ended questions. Reflexive thematic analysis was applied.

RESULTS

Three themes were generated. The first theme fear of hunger referred to the mothers' fears arising from difficulties in interpreting newborn infant behaviour and finding solace in giving formula. The second theme too little support-too late reflected participants' unrealised expectations of hospital staff. The third theme non-supportive communication addressed mother's need for empathy during the postpartum hospital stay.

CONCLUSION

Croatian mothers want to breastfeed, but often feel unsupported in doing so in the maternity hospital setting. Antenatal education of expectant mothers and training of maternity staff in breastfeeding counselling, with a strong emphasis on communication skills, as well as employment of International Board Certified Lactation Consultants and/or volunteer breastfeeding counsellors, were perceived by participants as a way to decrease mothers' requests for formula for their healthy, newborn infants.