Women’s suggestions on how to improve the quality of maternal and newborn care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: A co-occurrence network analysis

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Abstract

Background

Recent evidence revealed significant gaps in the quality of maternal and newborn care in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region (EUR) countries. Collecting and analyzing women’s views on their needs and priorities is crucial for developing actions to improve the quality of maternal and newborn care. With this study from the IMAgiNE EURO Project, we aimed to add to previous quantitative studies by analysing emerging themes from women’s suggestions on how to improve the quality of maternal and newborn care during facility-based birth in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

We collected data from mothers giving birth during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic using a validated online anonymous WHO standard-based questionnaire consisting of open-ended questions. Using a word co-occurrence network (WCON), we analysed responses in Italian from women who gave birth between March 2020 and March 2022. This approach entails a graphical representation of word pairings that frequently co-occur across sentences and compose clusters.

Results

The texts, produced by 2010 women participating in the study, consisted of 79 204 words and 3833 sentences. Eight clusters emerged with WCON, the three largest of which were related to companionship during childbirth, breastfeeding support, and physical resources. The term “swab”, associated with other terms in the COVID-19 domain, had the highest degree of centrality, thus representing a core topic.

Conclusions

The key emerging themes from women's suggestions can be used to shape policies to improve the quality of care for mothers and newborns. Our WCON analysis offers a valid approach to quickly screen large textual data on quality of care, providing a first set of major themes identified by clusters. As such, it could be used to improve documentation of service users’ suggestions promoting the engagement of both researchers and policymakers.

Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04847336.

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Most cited references 21

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Standards for reporting qualitative research: a synthesis of recommendations.

Bridget O’Brien, Ilene Harris, Thomas Beckman … (2014)

Standards for reporting exist for many types of quantitative research, but currently none exist for the broad spectrum of qualitative research. The purpose of the present study was to formulate and define standards for reporting qualitative research while preserving the requisite flexibility to accommodate various paradigms, approaches, and methods.

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Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and perinatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Barbara Chmielewska, Imogen Barratt, Rosemary Townsend … (2021)

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on health-care systems and potentially on pregnancy outcomes, but no systematic synthesis of evidence of this effect has been undertaken. We aimed to assess the collective evidence on the effects on maternal, fetal, and neonatal outcomes of the pandemic. Methods We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on the effects of the pandemic on maternal, fetal, and neonatal outcomes. We searched MEDLINE and Embase in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, from Jan 1, 2020, to Jan 8, 2021, for case-control studies, cohort studies, and brief reports comparing maternal and perinatal mortality, maternal morbidity, pregnancy complications, and intrapartum and neonatal outcomes before and during the pandemic. We also planned to record any additional maternal and offspring outcomes identified. Studies of solely SARS-CoV-2-infected pregnant individuals, as well as case reports, studies without comparison groups, narrative or systematic literature reviews, preprints, and studies reporting on overlapping populations were excluded. Quantitative meta-analysis was done for an outcome when more than one study presented relevant data. Random-effects estimate of the pooled odds ratio (OR) of each outcome were generated with use of the Mantel-Haenszel method. This review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020211753). Findings The search identified 3592 citations, of which 40 studies were included. We identified significant increases in stillbirth (pooled OR 1·28 [95% CI 1·07–1·54]; I 2=63%; 12 studies, 168 295 pregnancies during and 198 993 before the pandemic) and maternal death (1·37 [1·22–1·53; I 2=0%, two studies [both from low-income and middle-income countries], 1 237 018 and 2 224 859 pregnancies) during versus before the pandemic. Preterm births before 37 weeks' gestation were not significantly changed overall (0·94 [0·87–1·02]; I 2=75%; 15 studies, 170 640 and 656 423 pregnancies) but were decreased in high-income countries (0·91 [0·84–0·99]; I 2=63%; 12 studies, 159 987 and 635 118 pregnancies), where spontaneous preterm birth was also decreased (0·81 [0·67–0·97]; two studies, 4204 and 6818 pregnancies). Mean Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores were higher, indicating poorer mental health, during versus before the pandemic (pooled mean difference 0·42 [95% CI 0·02–0·81; three studies, 2330 and 6517 pregnancies). Surgically managed ectopic pregnancies were increased during the pandemic (OR 5·81 [2·16–15·6]; I 2=26%; three studies, 37 and 272 pregnancies). No overall significant effects were identified for other outcomes included in the quantitative analysis: maternal gestational diabetes; hypertensive disorders of pregnancy; preterm birth before 34 weeks', 32 weeks', or 28 weeks' gestation; iatrogenic preterm birth; labour induction; modes of delivery (spontaneous vaginal delivery, caesarean section, or instrumental delivery); post-partum haemorrhage; neonatal death; low birthweight (<2500 g); neonatal intensive care unit admission; or Apgar score less than 7 at 5 min. Interpretation Global maternal and fetal outcomes have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an increase in maternal deaths, stillbirth, ruptured ectopic pregnancies, and maternal depression. Some outcomes show considerable disparity between high-resource and low-resource settings. There is an urgent need to prioritise safe, accessible, and equitable maternity care within the strategic response to this pandemic and in future health crises. Funding None.

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Respectful care during childbirth in health facilities globally: a qualitative evidence synthesis

E Shakibazadeh, M Namadian, MA Bohren … (2017)

Background What constitutes respectful maternity care (RMC) operationally in research and programme implementation is often variable. Objectives To develop a conceptualisation of RMC. Search strategy Key databases, including PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, Global Health Library, grey literature, and reference lists of relevant studies. Selection criteria Primary qualitative studies focusing on care occurring during labour, childbirth, and/or immediately postpartum in health facilities, without any restrictions on locations or publication date. Data collection and analysis A combined inductive and deductive approach was used to synthesise the data; the GRADE CERQual approach was used to assess the level of confidence in review findings. Main results Sixty‐seven studies from 32 countries met our inclusion criteria. Twelve domains of RMC were synthesised: being free from harm and mistreatment; maintaining privacy and confidentiality; preserving women's dignity; prospective provision of information and seeking of informed consent; ensuring continuous access to family and community support; enhancing quality of physical environment and resources; providing equitable maternity care; engaging with effective communication; respecting women's choices that strengthen their capabilities to give birth; availability of competent and motivated human resources; provision of efficient and effective care; and continuity of care. Globally, women's perspectives of what constitutes RMC are quite consistent. Conclusions This review presents an evidence‐based typology of RMC in health facilities globally, and demonstrates that the concept is broader than a reduction of disrespectful care or mistreatment of women during childbirth. Innovative approaches should be developed and tested to integrate RMC as a routine component of quality maternal and newborn care programmes. Tweetable abstract Understanding respectful maternity care – synthesis of evidence from 67 qualitative studies.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): J Glob Health

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): J Glob Health

Journal ID (publisher-id): JGH

Title: Journal of Global Health

Publisher: International Society of Global Health

ISSN (Print): 2047-2978

ISSN (Electronic): 2047-2986

Publication date (Electronic, pub): 5 May 2023

Publication date (Electronic, collection): 2023

Volume: 13

Electronic Location Identifier: 06013

Affiliations

[1]WHO Collaborating Centre for Maternal and Child Health, Institute for Maternal and Child Health – IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo” – Trieste

Author notes

Correspondence to: Sara Geremia WHO Collaborating Centre for Maternal and Child Health, Institute for Maternal and Child Health – IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo” – Trieste Via dell’Istria 118 Trieste, Italy  sara.geremia@ 123456burlo.trieste.it

Author information

Sara Geremia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7780-040X

Emanuelle Pessa Valente http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4741-4628

Ilaria Mariani http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8260-4788

Paolo Dalena https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2920-9572

Marzia Lazzerini http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8608-2198

Article

Publisher ID: jogh-13-06013

DOI: 10.7189/jogh.13.06013

PMC ID: 10161149

PubMed ID: 37144478

SO-VID: b8f84fb0-3f7b-4e8f-b285-bfe8d7b4bba6

License:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Women’s suggestions on how to improve the quality of maternal and newborn care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: A co-occurrence network analysis

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Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19

Most cited references 21

Standards for reporting qualitative research: a synthesis of recommendations.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and perinatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Respectful care during childbirth in health facilities globally: a qualitative evidence synthesis

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