Giving Birth during the Pandemic. How The Decision to Transform Certain Hospitals In Dedicated Covid-19 Medical Units Impacted Women on Psychological Level
Giving Birth during the Pandemic. How The Decision to Transform Certain Hospitals In Dedicated Covid-19 Medical Units Impacted Women on Psychological Level

Summary/Abstract: The study evaluates how the decision to transform completely hospitals and some of the maternity wards into dedicated Covid 19 medical units psychologically impacted women who gave birth during the pandemic.Prior research has shown that, during the pandemic, between 21% and 25% of pregnant women were confronted with higher levels of stress and emotional problems (Preis et al., 2020a; Preis et al., 2020b). At the end of March 2020, the maternity ward of the “St. John the New” Emergency County Hospital in Suceava was closed and pregnant women were redirected to other local hospitals. Soon, the shortage of hospital beds in these alternative medical units generated a crisis: the women who were about to give birth did not know where to go, while the medical system froze. In some cases, the doctors recommended birth at home.The results of our research, carried out by means of interviews, indicate a higher level of incertitude and anxiety among women who gave birth in this period. The conclusions show that the negative psychological impact on these women would have been much reduced if they had been offered psychological support and accurate information during their crisis period.

• Details
• Contents