Abstract
People across the world have been greatly affected by the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The high infection risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in hospitals is particularly problematic for recently delivered mothers and currently pregnant women who require professional antenatal care. Online antenatal care would be a preferable alternative for these women since it can provide pregnancy-related information and remote clinic consultations. In addition, online antenatal care may help to provide relatively economical medical services and diminish health care inequality due to its convenience and cost-effectiveness, especially in developing countries or regions. However, some pregnant women will doubt the reliability of such online information. Therefore, it is important to ensure the quality and safety of online services and establish a stable, mutual trust between the pregnant women, the obstetric care providers and the technology vis-a-vis the online programs. Here, we report how the COVID-19 pandemic brings not only opportunities for the development and popularization of online antenatal care programs but also challenges.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has spread globally and caused a pandemic that has led to almost 10,000,000 diagnosed cases and 500,000 deaths as of June 28, 2020 [1]
In the context of the pandemic, pregnant women face an additional dilemma—they need professional antenatal care, there is a potential risk for cross-infection if they choose to visit a hospital to receive this service [6]
Our findings indicate that about 20% of respondents were afraid of any type of consultation at a hospital, while over 40% feared in-hospital antenatal visits
Summary
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has spread globally and caused a pandemic that has led to almost 10,000,000 diagnosed cases and 500,000 deaths as of June 28, 2020 [1]. Pregnant women can be guided to study pregnancy and labor instructions through books, and receive antenatal care education by online conferencing All of these approaches would likely contribute to better labor preparedness, maternal experience, postpartum adjustment and outcomes, fewer infection risks, and more economic benefits to the health system and the women themselves. It is important to establish close collaboration between hospitals and professional institutes to improve the quality of online programs, ensuring the reliability of their information In the meantime, this can be combined with information technology products, such as using electronic devices with remote monitoring functions to monitor basic indicators such as fetal heart rate and movement, to serve as a proxy for some routine obstetric examinations. Governments need to legislate relevant laws to regulate and protect the privacy of pregnant women when using online antenatal care services
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