Prenatal care in a border region during the pandemic of COVID-19

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand prenatal care in a border region during the COVID-19  pandemic. It was a qualitative study conducted  between August 2021 and January 2022 in primary  health care facilities with 27 participants from among  women and health workers in semistructured, remote, and in-person interviews, whose data were analyzed  using thematic analysis. Four thematic categories  were identified: delayed initiation of prenatal care,  partiality in prenatal health measures, (in)health  information in a pandemic period, and COVID-19  preventive measures in pregnancy. The COVID-19  pandemic has led to setbacks in prenatal care, such as limiting the presence of others than not the  pregnant individual during consultations and examinations,  exposing groups of pregnant women to health  information losses, postponing the start of prenatal  care, and or compromising their deliveries, especially  among Brazilian women living in Paraguay. Telecare as a strategy for prenatal follow-up has been slow to be  implemented. Health services have been reorganized  to maintain infection prevention measures and  provide prenatal follow-up in person.