Reggie E.

Candido BSN – II

NCM 34 Lec – D3 April 8, 2021

Graded Paper #1

Summarized topic

The rise of COVID-19 cases has widely affected everyone around the world, and
among those affected are the pregnant women. The healthcare delivery has been
severely affected by the said virus, not just because of the risk of obtaining the virus
from the hospital, but also the fear of being diagnosed by the said virus; so health
consequences are expected along with these are those that extend beyond the deaths
and disease caused by the virus itself. With this, the amount of pregnant women
expected to visit the healthcare centers have significantly decreased because of the
fear, which has directly increased the amount of stillbirths worldwide. There was a 28%
increase in the odds of stillbirth, which is the loss of the fetus after 20 weeks gestation
age, and the risk of mothers dying during pregnancy or childbirth increased by about
one-third; there was also a nearly sixfold increase in surgery for ectopic pregnancies
during the pandemic. If discovered early, it would have been treated with medication.
The increase in ectopic pregnancy surgery suggests that more women delayed seeking
care, according to the researchers (Preidt, 2021). They also found increases in mothers’
postpartum depression and anxiety. While in the Philippines, there has been a
significant rise in fear towards maternal deaths and unintended pregnancies because of
COVID-19. As the national and local health systems are overwhelmed by the necessary
response to the COVID-19 patients, attention, and resources for women’s health might
be diverted. Pregnant women’s utilization of facilities for ante-natal check-up and
delivery is declining because of service disruption, difficulty in commuting, and the fear
of contracting the virus. The maternal mortality cases in 2020 can increase to up to 670
additional deaths from the 2019 level (26 % increase) (UNFPA, 2020).

Health teachings

My health teachings for the pregnant women with complications based on the
readings are the following. First is to provide proper information towards the effects of
the COVID-19. This helps allay the anxiety and fear that is gained from the rumours and
the false information that is obtained through social media. Another important thing is to
allow the pregnant women to voice out their worries so that the nurse will be able to
answer their questions and will help allay the fear and anxiety of the mother. Next in the
list is the need to inform the pregnant women about the possible impact towards the
fetus, as well as her own health if she won’t be able to visit for her ante-natal check up.
This is important so that she will be aware of the risks and will be able to weigh out the
benefits of either visiting or not visiting for her ante-natal check up because of the fear
of the said virus. Most importantly, it is important to health teach the pregnant women
on ways of avoiding the contraction of the virus. This health teaching is always
important whether the patient may be pregnant or not. Another important matter to
health teach the pregnant women is to inform her about the protocols that are followed
by the healthcare departments in order to assure the safety of the patients so that their
fear of going for their ante-natal check up will be reduced. All of these would be the
most essential health teachings that I would be providing to the pregnant women with
complications during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Works Cited
Preidt, R. (2021, April 1). Stillbirths, Pregnancy Complications Up During Pandemic.
Retrieved April 5, 2021, from Web MD Web Site:
https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210401/stillbirths-pregnancy-
complications-up-during-pandemic#1

United Nations Population Fund. (2020, August 14). Significant rise in maternal deaths
and unintended pregnancies feared because of COVID-19, UNFPA and UPPI
study shows. Retrieved April 5, 2021, from Reliefweb:
https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/significant-rise-maternal-deaths-and-
unintended-pregnancies-feared-because-covid