COVID-19 and the experience of mothers in perinatal psychiatry services: an explorative study in the UK
Abstract
Background/Objective: As the health services were reorganized during the COVID-19 restricting access to family caregivers, we explored the experience of women in the perinatal period, attending a specialist perinatal mental health service. Methods: Patients (n = 38) in the outpatient list for review were assessed over phone based on a predesigned, semi-structured questionnaire, comprising both quantitative (demographic, clinical variables) and qualitative open-ended questions regarding their experience of services during COVID-19. Results: The responses provided insight into how the pandemic affected the experience of pregnancy of mentally ill women and the impact of changes in perinatal mental health services. The main concerns centered around reduced support from close family members during the perinatal period due to the lockdown, anxiety regarding COVID transmission, absence of a supporting persons in antenatal clinics, difficulty accessing support from midwives, and health visitors as well as the use of virtual clinics for mental health consultations. Conclusions: The results suggested possible methods of improving perinatal mental health support during challenging times, which included ensuring in-person consultations, access to family even remotely, increasing accessibility through alternative means; providing and close monitoring of additional psychosocial support when needed.Citation
Almas, S., Kar, N., Kennedy, V. (2023) COVID‑19 and the experience of mothers in perinatal psychiatry services: An explorative study in the UK. Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry, 39(3), pp. 210-214.Publisher
Medknow PublicationsJournal
Indian Journal of Social PsychiatryAdditional Links
https://journals.lww.com/ijsp/fulltext/2023/39030/covid_19_and_the_experience_of_mothers_in.4.aspxType
Journal articleLanguage
enDescription
© 2023 Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry. Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://journals.lww.com/ijsp/fulltext/2023/39030/covid_19_and_the_experience_of_mothers_in.4.aspxISSN
0971-9962ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.4103/ijsp.ijsp_147_22
Scopus Count
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/