COVID-19 threatens the progress of humanised childbirth: a qualitative study of giving birth during the pandemic in Brazil

The stressful nature of the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the quality of maternity care. The purpose of this study was to understand and explore the labour and delivery experiences for women who were diagnosed with COVID-19 in Brazil during this time. Between July and October 2020, we conducted 28 semi-structured interviews with postpartum women who tested positive for COVID-19 prior to delivering at a tertiary hospital in Fortaleza, Brazil. Interview transcripts were coded, and we carried out a thematic analysis using three domains of the World Health Organization’s model of intrapartum care for a positive childbirth experience as a framework. During labour and delivery, women experienced varying levels of respect, with many women reporting feeling mistreated by their healthcare team because of their COVID-19 diagnosis. Due to COVID-19 hospital protocols that denied companions or visitors, women reported feeling unsupported and isolated, especially during the mandatory quarantine. Women also experienced varying levels of effective communication, with some women citing they felt the staff were often fearful, and either avoidant or disrespectful. A minority of women reported that the staff appeared to be respectful and receptive to their needs. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic on health professionals potentially results in ineffective communication and mistreatment during labour and delivery. Embedding respectful and humanised childbirth principles into emergency maternal healthcare protocols may improve the childbirth experience for women with COVID-19, as well as for women during future public health emergencies.