COVID-19 changed the parenting journey for Australian families.
New mothers can usually rely on a ‘whole village’ of support in their maternity journey. The COVID-19 pandemic changed that course and shone a light on newfound ways of ‘going it alone’.
Routines and practices in pregnancy such as regular antenatal care, partners attending birthing classes and baby showers were replaced by uncertainty, reduced social support and the impact of rapidly changing restrictions to perinatal care, which changed the maternity experience for Australians in unique ways.
A world-first study published in the journal Midwifery describes what it was like to become a mother in Australia during the first wave of COVID-19 in 2020.