Social media and experiences of maternity care during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Social media offer expecting and new mothers a space to discuss birth-related fears, hopes and experiences. This is particularly the case during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has altered delivery of maternity care. Measures to reduce transmission risk in birth facilities and changes in birth plans are likely to have had an impact on new mothers' experiences of birth and birth care. From a feminist epidemiology perspective, seeking to incorporate more the views of the "researched", we explored themes discussed by (expecting) mothers on social media, hoping that those real-life concerns would find echo in the design of future research instruments for data collection. Methods: Using content analysis, we identified key themes in 200+ comments posted on a social media public page as a reaction to the dissemination of a research survey on maternity care during the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany. Results: In the comments, the most mentioned topics were own mask wearing, having a com)