Patient and Professional Experiences With Virtual Antenatal Clinics During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a UK Tertiary Obstetric Hospital: Questionnaire Study

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic required rapid implementation of virtual antenatal care to keep pregnant women safe. This transition from face-to-face usual care had to be embraced by patients and professionals alike. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated patients’ and professionals’ experiences with virtual antenatal clinic appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic to determine satisfaction and inquire into the safety and quality of care received. METHODS: A total of 148 women who attended a virtual antenatal clinic appointment at our UK tertiary obstetric care center over a 2-week period provided feedback (n=92, 62% response rate). A further 37 health care professionals (HCPs) delivering care in the virtual antenatal clinics participated in another questionnaire study (37/45, 82% response rate). RESULTS: We showed that women were highly satisfied with the virtual clinics, with 86% (127/148) rating their experience as good or very good, and this was not associated with any statistically significant differences in age (P=.23), ethnicity (P=.95), number of previous births (P=.65), or pregnancy losses (P=.94). Even though 56% (83/148) preferred face-to-face appointments, 44% (65/148) either expressed no preference or preferred virtual, and these preferences were not associated with significant differences in patient demographics. For HCPs, 67% (18/27) rated their experience of virtual clinics as good or very good, 78% (21/27) described their experience as the same or better than face-to-face clinics, 15% (4/27) preferred virtual clinics, and 44% (12/27) had no preference. Importantly, 67% (18/27) found it easy or very easy to adapt to virtual clinics. Over 90% of HCPs agreed virtual clinics should be implemented long-term. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates high satisfaction with telephone antenatal clinics during the pandemic, which supports the transition toward widespread digitalization of antenatal care suited to 21st-century patients and professionals.