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Online Antenatal Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Opportunities and Challenges
Huailiang Wu1,2, Weiwei Sun1,2, Xinyu Huang1,2
1Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic highlights opportunities and challenges for online antenatal care. This digital approach offers accessible pregnancy information and consultations, but ensuring service quality and trust is crucial.
Area of Science:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Digital Health
- Public Health
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic poses infection risks for pregnant women seeking in-person antenatal care.
- Online antenatal care offers a safer alternative, providing information and remote consultations.
- This digital model can improve healthcare accessibility and reduce inequality, particularly in developing regions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the opportunities and challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic for online antenatal care programs.
- To emphasize the need for quality assurance and trust-building in digital maternal healthcare.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature and expert opinion on telehealth in obstetrics.
- Analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the adoption of online antenatal services.
- Discussion of strategies for ensuring the reliability and safety of online antenatal care platforms.
Main Results:
- The pandemic accelerated the development and adoption of online antenatal care solutions.
- Online platforms can enhance convenience, cost-effectiveness, and reduce healthcare disparities.
- Concerns regarding the reliability of online health information and the need for established trust were identified.
Conclusions:
- Online antenatal care presents significant opportunities for improving maternal healthcare delivery globally.
- Addressing challenges related to information quality, safety, and user trust is essential for successful implementation.
- The pandemic has underscored the potential of digital health to transform antenatal care services.
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.
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