TY - JOUR
T1 - Women's perspectives on the quality of hospital maternal and newborn care around the time of childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic
T2 - Results from the IMAgiNE EURO study in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina
AU - IMAgiNE EURO study group
AU - Drandić, Daniela
AU - Drglin, Zalka
AU - Mihevc Ponikvar, Barbara
AU - Bohinec, Anja
AU - Ćerimagić, Amira
AU - Radetić, Jelena
AU - Ružičić, Jovana
AU - Kurbanović, Magdalena
AU - Covi, Benedetta
AU - Valente, Emanuelle Pessa
AU - Mariani, Ilaria
AU - Lazzerini, Marzia
AU - Ćerimagić, Amira
AU - Drandić, Daniela
AU - Kurbanović, Magdalena
AU - Virginie, Rozée
AU - de La Rochebrochard, Elise
AU - Löfgren, Kristina
AU - Miani, Céline
AU - Batram-Zantvoort, Stephanie
AU - Wandschneider, Lisa
AU - Lazzerini, Marzia
AU - Valente, Emanuelle Pessa
AU - Covi, Benedetta
AU - Mariani, Ilaria
AU - Morano, Sandra
AU - Chertok, Ilana
AU - Hefer, Emek
AU - Artzi-Medvedik, Rada
AU - Pumpure, Elizabete
AU - Rezeberga, Dace
AU - Jansone-Šantare, Gita
AU - Jakovicka, Dārta
AU - Knoka, Anna Regīna
AU - Vilcāne, Katrīna Paula
AU - Liepinaitienė, Alina
AU - Kondrakova, Andželika
AU - Mizgaitienė, Marija
AU - Juciūtė, Simona
AU - Arendt, Maryse
AU - Tasch, Barbara
AU - Nedberg, Ingvild Hersoug
AU - Kongslien, Sigrun
AU - Vik, Eline Skirnisdottir
AU - Baranowska, Barbara
AU - Tataj-Puzyna, Urszula
AU - Węgrzynowska, Maria
AU - Costa, Raquel
AU - Barata, Catarina
AU - Santos, Teresa
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
PY - 2022/12/1
Y1 - 2022/12/1
N2 - Objective: To assess the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) in countries of the former Yugoslavia. Method: Women giving birth in a facility in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina between March 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021 answered an online questionnaire including 40 WHO standards-based quality measures. Results: A total of 4817 women were included in the analysis. Significant differences were observed across countries. Among those experiencing labor, 47.4%–62.3% of women perceived a reduction in QMNC due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 40.1%–69.7% experienced difficulties in accessing routine antenatal care, 60.3%–98.1% were not allowed a companion of choice, 17.4%–39.2% reported that health workers were not always using personal protective equipment, and 21.2%–53.8% rated the number of health workers as insufficient. Episiotomy was performed in 30.9%–62.8% of spontaneous vaginal births. Additionally, 22.6%–55.9% of women received inadequate breastfeeding support, 21.5%–62.8% reported not being treated with dignity, 11.0%–30.5% suffered abuse, and 0.7%–26.5% made informal payments. Multivariate analyses confirmed significant differences among countries, with Slovenia showing the highest QMNC index, followed by Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Serbia. Conclusion: Differences in QMNC among the countries of the former Yugoslavia during the COVID-19 pandemic were significant. Activities to promote high-quality, evidence-based, respectful care for all mothers and newborns are urgently needed. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04847336.
AB - Objective: To assess the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) in countries of the former Yugoslavia. Method: Women giving birth in a facility in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina between March 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021 answered an online questionnaire including 40 WHO standards-based quality measures. Results: A total of 4817 women were included in the analysis. Significant differences were observed across countries. Among those experiencing labor, 47.4%–62.3% of women perceived a reduction in QMNC due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 40.1%–69.7% experienced difficulties in accessing routine antenatal care, 60.3%–98.1% were not allowed a companion of choice, 17.4%–39.2% reported that health workers were not always using personal protective equipment, and 21.2%–53.8% rated the number of health workers as insufficient. Episiotomy was performed in 30.9%–62.8% of spontaneous vaginal births. Additionally, 22.6%–55.9% of women received inadequate breastfeeding support, 21.5%–62.8% reported not being treated with dignity, 11.0%–30.5% suffered abuse, and 0.7%–26.5% made informal payments. Multivariate analyses confirmed significant differences among countries, with Slovenia showing the highest QMNC index, followed by Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Serbia. Conclusion: Differences in QMNC among the countries of the former Yugoslavia during the COVID-19 pandemic were significant. Activities to promote high-quality, evidence-based, respectful care for all mothers and newborns are urgently needed. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04847336.
KW - Bosnia-Herzegovina
KW - COVID-19
KW - Croatia
KW - IMAgiNE EURO
KW - Serbia
KW - Slovenia
KW - childbirth
KW - maternity
KW - newborns
KW - quality of care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85144250359&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/ijgo.14457
DO - 10.1002/ijgo.14457
M3 - Article
C2 - 36530003
AN - SCOPUS:85144250359
SN - 0020-7292
VL - 159
SP - 54
EP - 69
JO - International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
JF - International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
IS - S1
ER -