Pregnant women’s perceptions and acceptance of vaccinations during the Covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

Problem

Pregnant women are at increased risk of hospitalisation resulting in mortality and morbidity from preventable illness, resulting in their unborn babies also being at increased risk of serious complications and potentially in utero death as a result of these maternal illnesses. Vaccinations are routinely offered to pregnant women in the UK, for influenza (flu), pertussis (whooping cough) and Covid-19, yet the uptake of these vaccinations in pregnancy remains low.This research aims to explore how pregnant women feel about vaccinations in pregnancy (flu, whooping cough and Covid-19), particularly following the Covid-19 pandemic. It also aims to examine how pregnant women feel about their health and vulnerabilities to illness as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Approach

This is a qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with pregnant women and midwives. Interviews with pregnant women will explore their views about vaccinations (flu, whooping cough and Covid-19) since the Covid-19 pandemic, and whether the pandemic has influenced perceptions of vulnerability to illness. Interviews with midwives will explore vaccination discussions they routinely have had with pregnant women, and identify some of the barriers to vaccination that pregnant women discuss with them.40 pregnant women will be recruited via participating hospitals, searches of GP electronic patient records and community groups. 20 Midwives will be recruited via participating hospitals and midwife specific social media groups.Interviews will all be conducted remotely (using telephone or Microsoft Teams) and will be undertaken between February and May 2023. Interviews will be analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings

Recruitment is still ongoing for this study, but findings from interviews with pregnant women and midwives will be presented. Findings will include a description of the barriers pregnant women experience when making decisions about vaccinations (informational barriers and practical barriers such as access to appointments).

Consequences

Findings will identify some of the factors that affect pregnant women’s decisions when deciding to have a vaccination or not, and how these decisions have been affected by Covid-19. Findings will also describe whether Covid-19 has influenced how pregnant women feel about their health more generally, such as how vulnerable they feel to illness.This study will increase understanding of some of the factors influencing pregnant women’s vaccination decisions. Findings will inform the development of an intervention to increase vaccination uptake amongst pregnant women.