COVID-19 and Self-Care approaches during pregnancy

WHO defines self-care as "people, family, and community ability to prevent disease, promote wellness, maintain the health, and cope with disease with/without the assistance of a healthcare practitioner". Self-care programs, particularly in rural and low-resource areas where providers are few, offer creative and equitable approaches to improve access to reproductive health care services especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an extremely infectious disease. Since 2019, a terrible pandemic of this disease has swept the globe, and it hasn't stopped, with regular mutations transforming into aggressive and contagious versions. Immunologic and Physiological changes during pregnancy may impact susceptibility to COVID-19 and the severity of the disease. During the COVID-19 pandemic, pregnancy presented challenges like social isolation, time away from job and school, concerns, anxiety, stress, loneliness, depression, and uncertainties. It did, however, enhance health care by increasing self-care. Self-care and remote care are two creative and equitable strategies to improve access to reproductive health care services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, obstetric health care workers and facilities were able to integrate and enhance the use of interventions for self-care and remote care for pregnant women, as well as promote the level of care quality. Pregnant women rate the app's usability as good. These kinds of applications are designed to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression caused by pregnancy and its complications, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 and Self-Care approaches during pregnancy Keywords:

COVID-19 , self-care , telemedicine , pre-eclampsia , diabetes mellitus , pregnancy