Experiences of birthing care during COVID-19: a systematic review protocol

The objective of this review is to explore and understand the birthing care experiences of midwives, nurses, women, and birthing people during COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had implications for providing and receiving birthing care globally. In addition to navigating fears of contracting COVID-19, health care providers and families have had to adapt to changing policies and clinical practices in response to varying recommendations and evidence. These changes, including restrictive visitor policies and mandated mask-wearing, influenced the experience of birthing care. Synthesizing qualitative evidence about the birthing experiences of midwives, nurses, women, and birthing people (people who give birth but who do not identify as women) during COVID-19 can provide important information for policies and decision-making for future global pandemics.

Studies including licensed midwives, licensed nurses, women, and birthing people who provided or received birthing care during the COVID-19 pandemic will be considered. Studies published from January 2020 onward will be included. The review will consider all studies that present qualitative data, including, but not limited to, research designs such as phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, feminist research, and action research.

The following databases will be searched: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and LitCovid. MedArchiv, PsyArXiv, and Google Scholar will be searched for gray literature. Studies will be assessed independently by two reviewers. Any disagreements will be resolved through discussion or with a third reviewer. Data extraction will be completed by two reviewers. The JBI tools and resources will be used for meta-aggregation, including the creation of categories and synthesized findings.

PROSPERO CRD42021292832.