nursingmanagement.org

Volume 11 Issue 1

Mothers’ Access to Social and Health Care Systems Support during Their Infants’ First Year during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Feminist Poststructural Study

Britney Benoit,Megan Aston,Sheri Price,Damilola Iduye,S Meaghan Sim,Rachel Ollivier,Phillip Joy andNeda Akbari Nassaji
1Rankin School of Nursing, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS B2G 2W5, Canada
2School of Nursing, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
3Research, Innovation & Discovery, Nova Scotia Health, Halifax, NS B3S 1B8, Canada
4Department of Applied Human Nutrition, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS B3M 2J6, Canada
5School of Nursing, Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan 631, Iran
 
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Abstract

Social support and health services are crucial for mothers and families during their infants’ first year. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of self-isolation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on mothers’ access to social and health care systems support during their infants’ first year. We utilized a qualitative design using feminist poststructuralism and discourse analysis. Self-identifying mothers (n = 68) of infants aged 0 to 12 months during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nova Scotia, Canada completed an online qualitative survey. We identified three themes: (1) COVID-19 and the Social Construction of Isolation, (2) Feeling Forgotten and Dumped: Perpetuating the Invisibility of Mothering, and (3) Navigating and Negotiating Conflicting Information. Participants emphasized a need for support and the associated lack of support resulting from mandatory isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. They did not see remote communication as equivalent to in-person connection. Participants described the need to navigate alone without adequate access to in-person postpartum and infant services. Participants identified conflicting information related to COVID-19 as a challenge. Social interactions and interactions with health care providers are crucial to the health and experiences of mothers and their infants during the first year after birth and must be sustained during times of isolation.
Keywords: postpartum; mothers; infants; COVID-19; health system; social support; parenting; qualitative; feminist poststructuralism; discourse analysis