Laboring Alone: Perinatal Outcomes during Childbirth without a Birth Partner or Other Companion during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Antonín Pařízek, Petr Janků, Miloslava Kameníková, Petra Pařízková, Daniela Javornická, Dana Benešová, Vladimír Rogalewicz, Zdeněk Laštůvka () and Miroslav Barták
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Antonín Pařízek: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital, 128 08 Prague, Czech Republic
Petr Janků: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Brno, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Miloslava Kameníková: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Brno, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Petra Pařízková: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital, 128 08 Prague, Czech Republic
Daniela Javornická: Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Palacky University Olomouc, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Dana Benešová: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital, 128 08 Prague, Czech Republic
Vladimír Rogalewicz: Department of Biomedical Technology, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, 272 01 Kladno, Czech Republic
Zdeněk Laštůvka: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital, 128 08 Prague, Czech Republic
Miroslav Barták: Department of Social Work, Faculty of Social and Economics Studies, J. E. Purkyně University, 400 96 Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 3, 1-11

Abstract: During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, the government of the Czech Republic issued a nationwide ban on visitors to maternity wards. We studied whether the absence of a close person during labor due to this ban impacted perinatal indicators. This study was performed using an administrative observational questionnaire focused on absolute frequencies of events sent to maternity facilities across the Czech Republic. Completed answers were received from 33 facilities covering 4805 births during the study period in 2019 and 4514 births in 2020. The differences in individual parameters were tested using Pearson’s chi-squared homogeneity test. There were no significant differences between the two periods in spontaneous pre-term births ( p = 0.522) or in the number of cesarean sections ( p = 0.536). No significant changes were seen in either local or systemic analgesia. Data showed a significantly shorter ( p = 0.026) first stage of labor in 2020 compared to 2019, while there was no significant difference ( p = 0.673) in the second stage of labor. There was no statistically significant difference found for newborn perinatal adaptation. There were also no significant differences in intrapartum maternal injuries. Overall, we found no significant differences in basic perinatal indicators during the first wave of COVID-19 in 2020 compared to 2019. Although the absence of a close person may cause stress for the laboring women, it does not impair objective clinical outcomes.

Keywords: birth companion; childbirth experiences; continuous childbirth support; women’s health; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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