As the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, pregnancy and maternity services
underwent a rapid transformation in an attempt to deal with transmission
of the virus and the growing pressure on healthcare services. In a
climate of fear, and with many unknowns about the virus and the risks to
pregnant women and their babies, restrictions and hastily implemented
policies often overrode years of work to improve maternity care, with
devastating consequences for new families.
Covid Babies: how pandemic health measures undermined pregnancy, birth
and early parenting considers how policies put in place to protect us
from the immediate threat of the virus ultimately had the unintended
consequence of harming many who needed maternity and postnatal care. It
highlights how hard-won gains, even when supported by overwhelming
evidence, can be lost at the drop of a hat in a crisis.
By learning the lessons of the pandemic - through close examination of
the evidence base that is now emerging - Amy Brown shows how we can
begin to move forward and unravel what has gone wrong. This is no easy
task when our health services continue to face significant challenges,
but one that is necessary to ensure the health and wellbeing of our new
families and those who care for them.