Indirect effects of the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic on the coverage of essential maternal and newborn health services in a rural subdistrict in Bangladesh: results from a cross-sectional household survey.
BMJ Open
; 12(2): e056951, 2022 02 03.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35115357
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
This paper presents the effect of the early phase of COVID-19 on the coverage of essential maternal and newborn health (MNH) services in a rural subdistrict of Bangladesh.DESIGN:
Cross-sectional household survey with random sampling.SETTING:
Baliakandi subdistrict, Rajbari district, Bangladesh.PARTICIPANTS:
Data were collected from women who were on the third trimester of pregnancy during the early phase of the pandemic (111) and pre-pandemic periods (115) to measure antenatal care (ANC) service coverage. To measure birth, postnatal care (PNC) and essential newborn care (ENC), data were collected from women who had a history of delivery during the early phase of the pandemic (163) and pre-pandemic periods (166). EXPOSURE Early phase of the pandemic included a strict national lockdown between April and June 2020, and pre-pandemic was defined as August-October 2019. OUTCOME OF INTEREST Changes in the coverage of selected MNH services (ANC, birth, PNC, ENC) during the early phase of COVID-19 pandemic compared with the pre-pandemic period, estimated by two-sample proportion tests.FINDINGS:
Among women who were on the third trimester of pregnancy during the early phase of the pandemic period, 77% (95% CI 70% to 85%) received at least one ANC from a medically trained provider (MTP) during the third trimester, compared with 83% (95% CI 76% to 90%) during the pre-pandemic period (p=0.33). Among women who gave birth during the early phase of the pandemic period, 72% (95% CI 66% to 79%) were attended by an MTP, compared with 63% (95% CI 56% to 71%) during the pre-pandemic period (p=0.08). Early initiation of breast feeding was practised among 38% (95% CI 31% to 46%) of the babies born during the early phase of the pandemic period. It was 37% (95% CI 29% to 44%) during the pre-pandemic period (p=0.81). The coverage of ANC, birth, PNC and ENC did not differ by months of pandemic and pre-pandemic periods; only the coverage of at least one ANC from an MTP significantly differed among the women who were 7 months pregnant during the early phase of the pandemic (35%, 95% CI 26% to 44%) and pre-pandemic (49%, 95% CI 39% to 58%) (p=0.04).CONCLUSION:
The effect of the early phase of the pandemic including lockdown on the selected MNH service coverage was null in the study area. The nature of the lockdown, the availability and accessibility of private sector health services in that area, and the combating strategies at the rural level made it possible for the women to avail the required MNH services.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Maternal Health Services
Type of study:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Newborn
/
Pregnancy
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
BMJ Open
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Bangladesh