WOMEN'S EXPERIENCE OF CARE IN CHILDBIRTH DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN LATVIA: COMPARATIVE FINDINGS OVER TWO YEAR PERIOD OF THE IMAGINE EURO STUDY

Objective: To evaluate the mothers' perspective of care received around childbirth during COVID-19 in Latvia, comparing the years 2020 and 2021 using data of the WHO domain of experience of care from the IMAgiNE EURO study.

Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out over 2 years (March 1, 2020–October 28, 2021). Women who gave birth in a WHO European country facility answered a validated anonymous online questionnaire that included 40 WHO standard-based quality measures, 10 of which were related to the experience of care domain during childbirth. Descriptive analysis and multivariate logistic regression were performed to compare WHO domain of experience of care in 2020 versus 2021.

Results: 2079 Latvian women who underwent labor (n = 1860) and pre-labour C-section (n = 219) were analyzed. In 2020 and 2021, women reported low involvement in choices (43.5% vs 42.5%, respectively) and lack of emotional support (30.9% vs 33.3%). Almost one fifth (17.0% vs 17.8%) reported physical/verbal/emotional abuse. Women with pre-labour C-section had increased odds of no companionship during birth (adjusted OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.04–1.88, P = 0.027), with a not significant improvement in 2021 (52.2% vs 42.4%, P = 0.073).

Conclusion: A significant number of women reported low experience of care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia. Only very minor improvements were observed in 2021 compared to 2020. These results shall inform decision makers on improving care and providing respectful maternal care for all women.