Women’s lived experiences of the peripartum whilst positive to the coronavirus disease in Malta

Abstract

The start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2019, impacted the whole world and brought along with it many changes. The pandemic caused havoc amongst childbearing women, as they were preparing for their childbirth experience. Routine practices at the hospitals changed, different restrictions were put forward, and therefore women experienced childbirth differently. This study aimed to elicit and understand the lived experiences of women during childbirth who tested positive for COVID-19 in Malta. The objectives of this study were threefold: to capture women’s lived experiences of childbirth whilst positive for COVID-19 and to understand the meanings of these experiences. Secondly, to explore how women’s expectations and experiences of childbirth were influenced due to their COVID-19 status, and to understand the care given to women and the restrictions put in place during childbirth whilst being positive for COVID-19 in Malta. Lastly, to elicit any supportive measures that women identify as helpful in improving the childbirth experiences of women infected with the coronavirus disease. This study adopted a qualitative research approach with the use of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit eight participants. A one-time, face-to-face interview was conducted with the participants, using a semi-structured interview schedule. The data was transcribed verbatim and analyzed according to Smith and Nizza's (2021), IPA four-step process. Throughout this study, the ‘Navigating Uncertainty Alone’ theory put forward by Montgomery et al. (2023), was used as the study’s theoretical framework. The study’s findings were presented into four themes. In the theme ‘Taking a Diversion’, the findings reflected the changes women had to endure during pregnancy as they were living in a pandemic. These changes were mostly done in an attempt to preserve their expectation of childbirth. This theme also highlights the women’s reactions to finding out they tested positive for COVID-19. The second theme ‘Bumpy Ride’ presents the COVID-19- positive women’s lived experiences of their labour and birth whilst taking into account the new protocols being followed at the time. Subsequently, the theme ‘Landing in a War Zone’, describes the mothers’ immediate postpartum experiences, highlighting feelings of abandonment and social isolation, whilst also bringing to light instances of maternal-infant separation. Lastly, the theme of ‘Surviving the Journey’ talks about women’s journey in bringing their baby home and adapting to life with a newborn after testing positive for COVID19. Findings from this study were seen to be in line with the international literature and demonstrated many commonalities amongst women all over the globe. However, unique findings also emerged from this study. Based on findings from this study, several recommendations were put forward regarding clinical practice and policy, future research, and education. The main recommendation for this study was to introduce protocols and restrictions that are reflective of the women’s holistic needs, taking into account the birth partner and the newborn. This was put forward so that in the future, women and their families have better childbirth and immediate postpartum experiences.