Becoming a mother in the ‘new’ social world in Australia during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic
Open accessAbstract
Background Substantial public health measures occurred in Australian society during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the risk of community transmission. Little was known about the impact of these changes on childbearing women.Aim To describe childbearing women's experiences of becoming a mother during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.Methods A qualitative exploratory design using semi-structured interviews was used. Women were recruited through social media and self-nominated to participate in an interview. Maximum variation sampling was used. A total of 27 interviews were conducted with women across Australia. Data were analysed thematically.Findings The thematic analysis resulted in four primary themes and ten sub-themes. The themes were 'going it alone - having a baby was an isolating experience' ('receiving maternity care alone', 'dealing with government restrictions', and 'desiring social support'), 'advocating for self or others' ('seeking reliable information', 'valuing peersupport', and 'having to be resourceful'), 'finding a way through' ('a changed experience for all', 'managing stress and anxiety', 'requiring constant adjustments', and 'managing fear mongering'), and 'keeping safe'.Conclusion Becoming a mother during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a profound experience for the women. Following the public health initiatives which resulted in physical distancing restrictions, isolation, and the need to provide and receive social and peer support were common experiences. Whilst public health initiatives are implemented to keep people safe, the social and emotional toll on childbearing women should be considered by healthcare professionals. Childbearing women need to be safe but also require support and reassurance.
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This often rendered bereavement care impersonal.
“This often rendered bereavement care impersonal, which is again reminiscent of women’s entire journeys through pregnancy and childbirth from what we know from other research conducted during the pandemic [5, 6, 31, 32].”
From Preliminary findings on the experiences of care for parents who suffered perinatal bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic (2021) · cites this paper as [31]
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- Authors
- Sweet, L., Bradfield, Z., Vasilevski, V., Wynter, K., Hauck, Y., Kuliukas, L., Homer, C. S. E., Szabo, R. A., & Wilson, A. N.
- Affiliations
- Deakin University (AU)
- Curtin University (AU)
- Burnet Institute (AU)
- Royal Women's Hospital (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Sweet, Linda
- ORCID
- Venue
- Midwifery
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-07
- Volume
- 98
- Pages
- 102996
- ISSN
- 0266-6138 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9756084
- OpenAlex
- W3138104687
- Cited by
- 68
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 16
- FWCI
- 14.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- Locations
- Midwifery (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- OPUS - Open Publications of UTS Scholars (University of Technology Sydney) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › COVID-19 Impact on Reproduction
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Keywords
- transition to motherhood, COVID-19 pandemic, childbearing women, obstetric care, social isolation, social distancing, social support, peer support, stress and anxiety, fearmongering, public health restrictions, Australia
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adolescent, Adult, Australia, Female, Humans, Mothers, Pregnancy, Social Support, Stress, Psychological, Qualitative Research, Pregnant People, Young Adult, Pandemics
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