The effort to stem the impact of the novel coronavirus in the United States in the first half of 2020 dramatically reshaped day-to-day lives. Many local governments issued shelter-in-place orders that have lasted up to 12 weeks. Travel ground to a halt, social distancing became the norm, and masks became part of our everyday wardrobe. On top of all this, coronavirus has had a particularly transformative impact on the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum periods for new mothers, as hospitals and other maternal care providers adapted to comply with recommendations, leading to unprecedented changes in the way maternal care and labor and delivery proceed. These changes — and their unintended consequences — are the focus of this flash report.
At the time of writing, comprehensive research has not yet been published on the impact of COVID-19 on birth outcomes, perinatal well-being, and more. Although studies are now underway, the National Center for Health Statistics typically does not finalize national vital statistics data for two years post-year-end, though it may elect to release studies publicly more quickly, and many scientific studies are themselves not expected to be complete or published until well into 2021 or 2022.
But birth does not wait, and parents and providers are struggling now. As such, we see value in sharing the qualitative and quantitative insight we have gathered today.