The social and healthcare professional support drawn upon by women antenatally during the COVID-19 pandemic: A recurrent, cross-sectional, thematic analysis

Objective To explore antenatal experiences of social and healthcare professional support during different phases of social distancing restriction implementation in the UK. Design Semi-structured interviews were conducted via telephone or video-conferencing software between 13 July 2020 – 2 September 2020. Interviews were transcribed and a recurrent, cross-sectional, thematic analysis was conducted. Participants Twelve antenatal women were interviewed during UK social distancing restrictions in March 2020 (Timepoint 1; T1) and a separate sample of twelve women were interviewed in the initial easing of these restrictions in May 2020 (Timepoint 2; T2). Findings T1 themes were: ‘Maternity care as non-essential’ and ‘Pregnancy is cancelled’. T2 themes were: ‘Technology is a polarised tool’ and ‘Clinically vulnerable, or not clinically vulnerable? That is the question’. Key conclusions At T1, anxieties were ascribed to the exclusion of partners from routine care, and to perceived insensitivity and aggression from the public. For T2, insufficient Governmental transparency led to disillusionment, confusion, and anger. Covert workplace discrimination also caused distress at T2. Across timepoints: deteriorated mental wellbeing was attributed to depleted opportunities to interact socially and scaled back maternity care. Implications for practice Recommendations are made to: protect maternal autonomy; improve quality of mental health and routine care signposting; prioritise parental community support in the re-opening of ‘non-essential’ services; prioritise the option for face-to-face appointments when safe and legal; and protecting the rights of working mothers.