The Impacts of COVID-19 on US Maternity Care Practices: A Followup Study

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dc.citation.articleNumber655401en_US
dc.citation.journalTitleFrontiers in Sociologyen_US
dc.citation.volumeNumber6en_US
dc.contributor.authorGutschow, Kimen_US
dc.contributor.authorDavis-Floyd, Robbieen_US
dc.date.accessioned2021-07-08T13:46:03Zen_US
dc.date.available2021-07-08T13:46:03Zen_US
dc.date.issued2021en_US
dc.description.abstractThis article extends the findings of a rapid response article researched in April 2020 to illustrate how providers’ practices and attitudes towards COVID-19 had shifted in response to better evidence, increased experience, and improved guidance on how SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 impacted maternity care in the US. This article is based on a review of current labor and delivery guidelines in relation to SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, and on an email survey of 28 community-based and hospital-based maternity care providers in the US, who discuss their experiences and clients’ needs in response to a rapidly shifting landscape of maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic. One-third of our respondents are obstetricians, while the other two-thirds include midwives, doulas, and labor & delivery nurses. We present these providers’ frustrations and coping mechanisms in shifting their practices in relation to COVID-19. The primary lessons learned relate to improved testing and accessing PPE for providers and clients; the need for better integration between community- and hospital-based providers; and changes in restrictive protocols concerning labor support persons, rooming-in with newborns, immediate skin-to-skin contact, and breastfeeding. We address how changing practices and protocols influenced mother’s and providers’ wellbeing. We conclude by suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic offers a transformational moment to shift maternity care in the US towards a more integrated and sustainable model that can improve provider and childbearer experiences as well as maternal and newborn outcomes.en_US
dc.identifier.citationGutschow, Kim and Davis-Floyd, Robbie. "The Impacts of COVID-19 on US Maternity Care Practices: A Followup Study." <i>Frontiers in Sociology,</i> 6, (2021) Frontiers Media S.A.: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2021.655401.en_US
dc.identifier.digitalfsoc-06-655401en_US
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2021.655401en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/111002en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherFrontiers Media S.A.en_US
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_US
dc.titleThe Impacts of COVID-19 on US Maternity Care Practices: A Followup Studyen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.type.dcmiTexten_US
dc.type.publicationpublisher versionen_US
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