Impact of COVID-19 on reproductive health and maternity services in low resource countries
Ahmed Y. Abdelbadee, Ahmed M. Abbas
Abstract
PURPOSE: Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a rapidly evolving pandemic. It is well-known that pregnant women are more susceptible to viral infection due to immune and anatomic factors. Therefore, the viral pandemic might affect the reproductive health and maternity services especially in low-resource countries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this article, we tried to highlight the impact of COVID-19 on reproductive health and maternity health services in low resource countries with emphasis on adapting some of the published best practice recommendations to suit a struggling environment. CONCLUSION: Pregnant women residing in low resource countries represent a uniquely vulnerable group in epidemics due to several factors. Maternity services in low resource countries are adapting to provide antenatal and postnatal care amidst a rapidly shifting health system environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.