Perinatal Experiences of Asian American Women during COVID-19
Publication Date
3-1-2022
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
MCN The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing
Volume
47
Issue
2
DOI
10.1097/NMC.0000000000000796
First Page
71
Last Page
76
Abstract
Purpose:To explore the wellbeing, pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum experiences of Asian American women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic.Study Design:Qualitative exploratory design.Methods:Using convenience and snowball sampling, we recruited Asian American women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic via social media. Participants completed sociodemographic and depressive symptom questionnaires and took part in a virtual semistructured interview where they were asked to describe their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experiences in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative content analysis methods were used to identify themes from participant narratives.Results:Thirty-eight Asian American women representing several racial ethnic subgroups (Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Laotian, Vietnamese) participated in our study. Participants were on average 34 (SD = 3.5) years of age; the majority were married and lived in California. At the time of data collection, participants were 3.7 (SD = 2.07) months postpartum and 5.3 to 10.5 months into the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative content analysis revealed two main themes: 1) unexpected perinatal journey, and 2) the emotional and psychological consequences of COVID-19.Clinical Implications:Our findings are not unique to Asian American women, but they offer insight for nurses taking care of all childbearing women. Nurses can provide individually tailored anticipatory guidance to help women navigate perinatal changes and manage expectations during future public health crises. Nurses can also encourage and help perinatal women identify ways to increase their own social support networks during the pregnancy and postpartum period.
Funding Sponsor
San José State University
Keywords
Asian Americans, COVID-19, Perinatal care, Postpartum period, Pregnancy
Department
Nursing; Social Work
Recommended Citation
Deepika Goyal, Meekyung Han, Talia Feldman-Schwartz, and Huynh Nhu Le. "Perinatal Experiences of Asian American Women during COVID-19" MCN The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing (2022): 71-76. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMC.0000000000000796
