The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Maternal Health Outcomes

Title: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Maternal Health Outcomes Abstract The COVID-19 Pandemic has disrupted access to maternal health services. Lockdowns, fear of contracting the disease, and limited access to healthcare services may have affected the overall well-being of expectant mothers and their newborns. Studies from previous infectious disease outbreaks have shown that adverse maternal outcomes have increased. Research is needed to determine the indirect impact the pandemic had on various areas of maternal health. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic literature review to understand the impact of COVID-19 on maternal health. A systematic review was conducted using Google Scholar, PubMed, EBSCO, and MEDLINE databases to obtain relevant sources for this project. The sources included peer-reviewed journals and other scientific articles. The main findings of each article were extracted. The key search terms for this study included, “impact of COVID-19 pandemic on maternal outcomes”, “prevalence of adverse maternal outcomes”, “postpartum depression” and “postpartum complications”. Several themes were identified from the selected articles including postpartum depression, reduced access to healthcare services, maternal stress, and health complications. A total of 18 articles were included in this review. Postpartum Depression was discussed in 38.9% of the selected articles followed by adverse maternal outcomes (33%). The findings of this research will be used in projects to identify evidence-based strategies on how to increase well-being within maternal health. This study will improve understanding of how the pandemic may have exacerbated adverse maternal health outcomes and provide areas that practitioners and future researchers can focus on optimizing health outcomes