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. 2022 Dec;159 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):85-96.
doi: 10.1002/ijgo.14460.

Quality of health care around the time of childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from the IMAgiNE EURO study in Norway and trends over time

Ingvild Hersoug Nedberg  1 , Eline Skirnisdottir Vik  2 , Sigrun Kongslien  1 , Ilaria Mariani  3 , Emanuelle Pessa Valente  3 , Benedetta Covi  3 , Marzia Lazzerini  3 ; IMAgiNE EURO study group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Quality of health care around the time of childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from the IMAgiNE EURO study in Norway and trends over time

Ingvild Hersoug Nedberg et al. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: To describe maternal perception of the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) in facilities in Norway during the first year of COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Women who gave birth in a Norwegian facility from March 1, 2020, to October 28, 2021, filled out a structured online questionnaire based on 40 WHO standards-based quality measures. Quantile regression analysis was performed to assess changes in QMNC index over time.

Results: Among 3326 women included, 3085 experienced labor. Of those, 1799 (58.3%) reported that their partner could not be present as much as needed, 918 (29.8%) noted inadequate staff numbers, 183 (43.6%) lacked a consent request for instrumental vaginal birth (IVB), 1067 (34.6%) reported inadequate communication from staff, 78 (18.6%) reported fundal pressure during IVB, 670 (21.7%) reported that they were not treated with dignity, and 249 (8.1%) reported experiencing abuse. The QMNC index increased gradually over time (3.68 points per month, 95% CI, 2.83-4.53 for the median), with the domains of COVID-19 reorganizational changes and experience of care displaying the greatest increases, while provision of care was stable over time.

Conclusion: Although several measures showed high QMNC in Norway during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a gradual improvement over time, several findings suggest that gaps in QMNC exist. These gaps should be addressed and monitored.

Keywords: COVID-19; IMAgiNE EURO; Norway; WHO standards; childbirth; healthcare facility; maternal health; quality of care.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Study flow diagram. aPercentage of missing data for each woman was calculated over mandatory questions (n = 45).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) index by month. (a) QMNC index by month for all women contributing to the index (n = 1615). (b) QMNC index by Provision of care. (c) QMNC index by Experience of care. (d) QMNC index by Availability of human and physical resources. (e) QMNC index by Reorganizational changes due to COVID‐19. Black solid lines represent the QMNC index median, while gray dashed lines represent the interquartile range.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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