In December 2019, an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown origin occurred in Wuhan, China. A number of common pneumonia pathogens were excluded and a novel coronavirus infection was confirmed. The new coronavirus has been named SARS-CoV-2 and the disease caused by the virus COVID-19. The World Health Organization has declared a pandemic on 12 March 2020. Purpose: We focused on the changes that the pandemic has brought to the perinatal health system, how pregnant women, childbearing and postpartum women have reacted to it. We gathered scientific studies in a literature review to determine the impact of the pandemic on women's satisfaction with perinatal care, mental health and the use of medical interventions. Methods: A theoretical review of scientific literature in Slovene and English was used to collect basic definitions of the pandemic and data on the COVID-19 pandemic. The literature was collected using a Prism diagram. We included 16 studies in the literature review that met our research aim and evaluated them for quality. Results: With literature review we found out that while some studies reported no statistically significant differences in satisfaction with childbirth during the pandemic, other authors reported lower satisfaction on the part of women and partners. Satisfaction was affected by the interventions taken as a result of the pandemic, the ban on partner attendance at birth and the ban on postnatal visits. Fear of COVID-19 and the attitude of health care workers, who were often exhausted due to the pandemic, also had a major impact on satisfaction. The results of the studies showed that there was a higher level of anxiety in women during the perinatal period. Most authors also reported a higher incidence of postnatal depression and post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental illnesses. There are no clear-cut findings on the use of medical interventions. Some authors report an increase in the use of interventions, while others report no change. Discussion and conclusion: Studies have shown that women experienced higher levels of anxiety in pregnancy, presumably due to the uncertainty of the situation. There is no clear conclusion regarding women's satisfaction with their treatment and the use of medical interventions. We found that women's satisfaction with childbirth, use of interventions and postnatal mental health are highly correlated. Violence and discrimination by health workers were a major factor in dissatisfaction. It is important that health professionals are aware of their impact on women's well-being at a sensitive time in their lives and try to maintain compassion and empathy regardless of the situation.
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