The Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Telemedicine Evolution in Obstetrical Care During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed drastic challenges to the health system and resulted in drastic measures to reduce the high morbidity and mortality rates observed among affected individuals. Pregnant women were faced with an unexpected suspension of anti-natal care with the recommendation of indoor confinement. Telemedicine (Tm), defined as the delivery of healthcare via communication, stood up as a valuable tool to address those needs with its convenience of remote monitoring and ease of use. This review aimed to verify the transition of Tm in obstetrical care, define factors and barriers associated with its acceptance, its performance, and how it evolved during the COVID-19 era to guide its role in modern obstetrics. Four electronic repositories were searched: PubMed, Scopus, WOS, and Google Scholar using the keywords (pregnant, telemedicine, COVID- 19, feto-maternal health, outcome, satisfaction, and health care); eligible studies were included in the analysis. Despite the challenges and difficulties faced by Tm during its early implementation in the pandemic, its effectiveness was demonstrated. Looking back to the lessons learned from the pandemic, Tm stood out as a reliable, safe, cost-effective tool for delivering anti-natal care during lockdown. Its role in alleviating anxiety and stress associated with the pandemic was notable. There are still gaps in our knowledge that need to be researched further, practically, the long-term outcome of Tm follow-up for both the mothers and their babies, and from a lower income countries' perspective as Tm services faced digital literacy in those areas. It has been anticipated that Tm will play a crucial role in modern obstetrics, as an integral part of the health service or as a complete part. Moreover, by adopting the 2 models, pregnant women will have the leverage of to aim for better delivery and outcomes in the presented health care.