A qualitative study of the experience of mothers with mental illness during the COVID-19 pandemic: Learnings from a perinatal psychiatry service

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Pregnancy and childbirth are one of the vulnerable periods in women's lives, and women with mental illness require additional support during this period. The COVID-19 pandemic along with its impact on clinical services brought challenging situations. We intended to study the experiences of women with mental illness in their perinatal period reflecting about the perinatal psychiatric services. METHODS: It was a qualitative, interview-based study. Information was collected through a discussion with the patients through telephone. Both open- and closed-ended questions were used to explore their experiences and facilitate the content. The content was analyzed into various themes. RESULTS: There were a few major themes in the following areas: the effect of COVID on life during pregnancy and postnatal period, the effect of COVID on prenatal and postnatal care, a preference for in-person, face-to-face assessment and care, areas where the perinatal psychiatry services performed well, and suggestions from patients for improvement of the services. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings can help to improve existing perinatal psychiatric services to make these more accessible and responsive to the needs of the patients, especially during challenging times.