Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the global state of maternal and child health was moving in the right direction. However, according to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) report of 2021, progress in reproductive, maternal, and child health could be stalled or reversed by the pandemic. Mothers and children were reluctant to receive regular health check-ups to avoid getting infected or because of lack of transportation. This was often discussed in the field of health inequality. Moreover, the excessive workload to health professionals caused by the pandemic might have posed a reduction in the quality of maternal, neonatal, and child care services. Consequently, it is becoming harder to achieve the SDG targets related to maternal and child health.
Although previous studies have reported the influence of COVID-19 on access to health care and quality, more evidence is needed in the field of maternal and child health. In particular, the status of the continuum of care in maternal, neonatal, and child health needs to be demonstrated more: how access to continuity in the uptake of care in reproductive health, adolescent, antenatal, delivery, postnatal, motherhood, and childhood care, and nutrition of women and children has been affected.
This Research Topic aims to demonstrate the status, impact, and solutions to the challenges of maternal and child health care access and quality during and after the pandemic and under lockdown strategies.
The scope of this Research Topic is the status, health seeking behavior, health impact, and solutions to the challenges of access to maternal and child health care and quality during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Expected themes are related to the following topics under the COVID-19 pandemic or compared before and during the pandemic.
- Barriers to access to the continuum of care in maternal and child health
- Children's nutrition status and dietary diversity
- Health seeking behaviors under limited health care services
- Family planning service provision and prevalence of unintended pregnancy among adolescents and couples
- Prevalence of complications among women and newborns in the perinatal period
- E-health solution to improve mothers’ and newborns’ access to care
- Disrupted children's dental care
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the global state of maternal and child health was moving in the right direction. However, according to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) report of 2021, progress in reproductive, maternal, and child health could be stalled or reversed by the pandemic. Mothers and children were reluctant to receive regular health check-ups to avoid getting infected or because of lack of transportation. This was often discussed in the field of health inequality. Moreover, the excessive workload to health professionals caused by the pandemic might have posed a reduction in the quality of maternal, neonatal, and child care services. Consequently, it is becoming harder to achieve the SDG targets related to maternal and child health.
Although previous studies have reported the influence of COVID-19 on access to health care and quality, more evidence is needed in the field of maternal and child health. In particular, the status of the continuum of care in maternal, neonatal, and child health needs to be demonstrated more: how access to continuity in the uptake of care in reproductive health, adolescent, antenatal, delivery, postnatal, motherhood, and childhood care, and nutrition of women and children has been affected.
This Research Topic aims to demonstrate the status, impact, and solutions to the challenges of maternal and child health care access and quality during and after the pandemic and under lockdown strategies.
The scope of this Research Topic is the status, health seeking behavior, health impact, and solutions to the challenges of access to maternal and child health care and quality during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Expected themes are related to the following topics under the COVID-19 pandemic or compared before and during the pandemic.
- Barriers to access to the continuum of care in maternal and child health
- Children's nutrition status and dietary diversity
- Health seeking behaviors under limited health care services
- Family planning service provision and prevalence of unintended pregnancy among adolescents and couples
- Prevalence of complications among women and newborns in the perinatal period
- E-health solution to improve mothers’ and newborns’ access to care
- Disrupted children's dental care