Seeking digital maternity healthcare during the pandemic health system shock: a systematic review of women's experiences in low- and middle-income countries
Our findings suggest emotional challenges, isolation, and limited access to maternity services were prominent among pregnant individuals in low- and middle-income countries. This synthesis provides insights into how pandemic associated adaptations, which have been retained beyond, such as digital health solutions were experienced by women within constrained health systems, revealing both opportunities and persistent gaps in digital health access and equity. Although a review of low- and middle-income countries-there is learning to be taken from these settings which could easily be applied not only across low- and middle-income countries, but also in high-income settings, in the form of reverse (or "trickle-up") innovation to improve maternity care as we recover and re-build from the pandemic and offer more resilient ways of providing maternity care through future health system shocks. <b>Systematic Review Registration</b>: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42022355948, identifier CRD42022355948.
Authors
- Kayleigh Sheen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1254-1763)
- Harriet Boulding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3144-0108)
- Aricca D. Van Citters (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2961-5661)
- Valerie A. Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5170-9819)
- Milly Wilson
- Hiten D. Mistry (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2564-7348)
- Florence Tydeman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9717-5533)
- Paul T. Seed (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7904-7933)
- Emma L. Duncan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8143-4403)
- Kathryn M. Dalrymple
- Tisha Dasgupta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7874-9519)
- Alice McGreevy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4903-8301)
- Eugene C. Nelson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7991-7836)
- Debra Bick
- Camila Carbajal
- Ingrid Wolfe
- Lucilla Poston
- Lili Peterson
- Laura A. Magee
- Peter von Dadelszen
- Marina Soley-Bori
- Gillian Horgan
- Julia Fox-Rushby
- Rachael Buabeng
- Emily Russell
- Sergio A. Silverio
- Sara L White
- Asma Khalil
Institutions
- University College Dublin (IE)
- Dartmouth College (US)
- Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (US)
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- University of the West of England (GB)
- King's College London (GB)
- Tommy's (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Reproductive Health
- Published
- 2026-01-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/frph.2025.1734456
- Primary Topic
- COVID-19 Impact on Reproduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- Department of Health and Social Care
- Economic and Social Research Council