The role of childbirth educators in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

1 http://kjwhn.org Childbirth education helps to deliver information regarding health care to pregnant women and their families during the antenatal and postnatal periods. Culturally, Korea has a unique type of childbirth education, termed taegyo, which helps in maternal health care and stimulates the cognitive development of the fetus in the womb [1]. In modern society, this tradition continues to be taught in prenatal classes for pregnant women and their families, mainly at hospitals and public health care centers. Prenatal classes play a role in encouraging maternal physical, psychological, and social health through self-care during pregnancy. These classes deliver information on a wide-ranging and deep understanding of the birth process and readiness for the maternal role, and they play a valuable role as a mode for evidence-based nursing care to be shared with pregnant women. In addition to learning about diet, nutrition, vaccination, exercise, rest, activity, the birth process, pain control during labor, breastfeeding, and practical approaches to daily activities, pregnant women gain emotional benefits through communication between educators and pregnant women. Childbirth education enhances parental attachment, motherhood, confidence, and childbearing efficacy, and it relieves psychological distress and the postpartum blues [2]. Although birth education is important for pregnant women, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic changed the social atmosphere and culture, especially in the field of health-related education [3]. Face-to-face education was curtailed in Korea because of social distancing and quarantine. Birth education has also been limited in order to avoid personal contact in the past 2 years since COVID-19. Pregnant women have lost educational opportunities to obtain knowledge, have appropriate attitudes reinforced, and develop the necessary skills for healthy pregnancy and birth because many birth classes have been shut down. Even when a birth class is open, only a limited number of pregnant women can participate in on-site education because of governmental quarantine rules. The strengthened social distancing regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 permit private gatherings of only up to four people nationwide in Korea [4]. Gradually, midwives, nursing educators, and medical staff have tried to provide remote birth education. However, this leads to an important question: can remote birth education be an acceptable substitute for face-to-face birth classes? Some insights into this question are offered by recent studies, such as a systematic review and meta-analysis of nine randomized controlled articles on internet-based prenatal education interventions, which found interventions delivered via online reduced maternal depression [5]. Internet-based education is defined as the delivery of organized educational content between educators and learners using computer networks, and it is characterized by interactive Editorial