By Anna Nelson (@Anna_Nelson95) As with all aspects of the NHS, a number of changes have been enacted in the operation of maternity services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While many of these changes are important and justifiable in order to protect the safety of pregnant people, maternity staff and newborns, it is […]
Category: BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health
The COVID-19 lockdown is accelerating the shift toward online and remote health to meet women’s reproductive health needs
By Emma Rezel-Potts, Melissa J Palmer, Caroline Free, Paula Baraitser The lockdown measures issued by the UK government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have transformed all aspects of healthcare delivery, including sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Remote and online solutions, that were already developing as alternative options to some traditional, face-to-face SRH services, have […]
Should we all be wearing masks? A community midwife’s view.
by Laura Tugores & Octavia Wiseman During the Covid19 pandemic midwives and other front-line workers challenged PHE’s guidelines which said that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was not needed when caring for asymptomatic patients. In this blog post, two community midwives talk about what this was like for them. Now that guidance has finally been changed […]
Ensuring personalised care for pregnant women during COVID-19
During a period of lockdown where many of our basic freedoms have been limited, the autonomy and safety of pregnant women can easily be overlooked. In a blogpost last week, Anna Nelson and Chloe Romanis discussed concerns raised about the availability of home birthing during the COVID-19 lockdown. I spoke with Sarah Noble, Head of […]
Home-Birthing and Free-Birthing in the era of COVID-19
Anna Nelson and Elizabeth Chloe Romanis For many pregnant people[1] due to give birth soon there is considerable anxiety about how COVID-19 will impact birthing plans. Those who have planned for home-births are concerned that their plans will be jeopardised by the announcements from some NHS Trusts that they are suspending home-birthing services. Private home-birth […]
Covid-19 and Abortion Update 4: Approval Order for England Made
This evening the Department of Health and Social Care issued an approval order enabling women in England to have early medical abortions at home during the Covid-19 crisis. The provisions affect women seeking abortions before 10 weeks, allowing them to take both pills for early medical abortion at home. The approval also allows doctors to […]
International Surrogacy During the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Anna Nelson @Anna_Nelson95 This blog examines the implications of the current COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen unprecedented restrictions placed upon citizens across the globe, for international surrogacy. It concludes that while the pandemic does indeed pose some novel issues – such as the potential for babies born to surrogates who live abroad during this […]
Abortion and Covid-19: MPs should beware anti-abortion letters
Nathan Hodson, Elizabeth Chloe Romanis and Jordan Parsons Debate continues this week over whether abortion regulations in Great Britain should be adapted to ensure access for women during the Covid-19 crisis and resulting widespread self-isolation. We have reviewed an email circulated by anti-abortion activists immediately after laws were briefly relaxed (and the changes were revoked […]
COVID-19 and Abortion Care Update: Department of Health and Social Care “Error”
Elizabeth Chloe Romanis, Jordan Parsons, and Nathan Hodson In an unprecedented move, yesterday the Department of Health and Social Care liberalised restrictions on abortion care in England only to revoke that decision hours later. This returned the legal position for abortion provision back to that stated in the approval order of the Secretary of State […]
COVID-19 and Remote Access to Abortion Care: An Update
Elizabeth Chloe Romanis, Jordan Parsons and Nathan Hodson Today, the Department of Health and Social Care announced that a temporary change in the law allowing women in England to access abortion entirely remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The approval order allows women to be prescribed abortion medications remotely and take both early medical abortion medications […]