Pregnancy during COVID-19 Pandemic
The news topic that I choose to analyze is after the coronavirus outbreak, out of the protection of patients and health care workers. Pregnant women cannot spend their pregnancies and delivery period together in hospitals with their husbands and families in New York. This can make pregnant women feel anxious and fearful during childbirth because they don’t have the companionship and support of their families. Therefore, the sources of media information are government policies and interviews and impressions of clinical pregnant women. Even if the media covers the same news, different media will have their priorities and highlight ideas that this paper will be looking to highlight.
The New York Times gets information from the Twitter account: NewYork-Presbyterian(@nyphospital). GMA also obtains information from this Twitter account because it publishes official notice from the New York government. The New York Times and GMA and Other media like Fox News and PBS News use the communication and interview with patients are used to show the real psychology and thoughts of patients under the isolation policy (Leana, 2020). Those media use interviews to highlight although the policies are protecting people from the spread of coronavirus, they are inhumanity.
One of the main issues that the media has taken into account during the period of the pandemic is the issue of pregnancy and delivery. Especially after the announcement of different policy guidelines from the state government and individual hospital, which aimed to reduce the risk of pregnant women and the new children from contracting the virus. Different media sources looked into the matter of pregnancy during the pandemic more or less the same way. After analyzing nine news articles from various media outlets, it is clear that the main salient facet of the story is the absence of the loved ones in the delivery room.
The information that is most highlighted by the media is pregnant mothers’ opinions about how they feel about policies and the pandemic in general, evidenced by the number of interviews and quotes from soon to be parents in the news sources. However, the media failed or left out important information like the ones presented by npr.org, which highlighted the positive side of the pandemic and why the policies are good and how to cope with the situations as a pregnant woman.
The New York Times article by Christina Caron and Katie Syckle is the most detailed, credible, and reliable. The author conducted interviews of pregnant women and medical specialists to get their views, but unlike the other media outlets, the article has more depth. Other than just taking the opinion of two or three people, the authors looked into a larger audience for opinion. The authors also looked at the situation in other parts of the country to compare with New York. The article also brings a different dimension that is not present on the others. Medical practitioners highlight that the policies are more likely to impact women of color (Caron & Syckle, 2020). The New York article, together with the Fox News, highlighted the arising issue in which many mothers were opting for home delivery without professional care hence exposing the mother and the baby to risks. “We do not want any woman having an unassisted birth. That is our nightmare.” (Corbin, 2020).
Some sources chose to take a different perspective and incorporate science as opposed to personal opinion or psychological implications in articles from BBC, TPM, and Fox news included aspects of science in their articles. For example, Fox News quoted information from the CDC website. They admitted to knowing little information about the risk posed to a child born of a COVID-19 positive patient, which is attributed to limited research (Marshall, 2020). The TPM quotes a scientific study that showed almost 14% of women who gave birth at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital where COVID positive, which prompted an editorial opinion article asking questions which have not been raised by another other news article analyzed. For example, if near tern pregnant mothers are the most aware of social distancing, then what is their frequent doctor’s appointment are opportunities for infection. This was an editorial opinion based on scientific information author made it clear the information was opinion and assumptions. From the BBC article, Philia Roxby used a scientific study showing that pregnant women from black and minority ethnic groups were at higher risk of contracting the virus. The author used this information to look into this perspective from the minority groups’ lens and brings the issue of effects of disparities in the society while at the same time addressing the issue of pandemic and pregnancy (Roxby, 2020). Roxby’s concurred with the New York Times article, which highlighted that in the light of pandemic and the new policies, pregnant women of color were at a higher risk because even before the pandemic, they were at higher risk of dying around their pregnancy. To conclude the article Roxby presented the readers with important a vital message which gave unique advice to women on how to stay safe during this period, which can be as an opinion (Roxby, 2020).
From the sources that had conducted interviews with pregnant women, there are a number of common emotions in all women. The women reported being scared, confused, emotional, stressed, fearful, and anxious about delivering a child during this period. And the new policies locking out their spouses and family members out of the delivery room worsens the situation. More women were also concerned and worried about what would happen when they are required to decide for their baby, and they are not in a position to it (Brown 2020) (Murthy, 2020) (Caron & Syckle, 2020) and (Wamsley).
One of the sources, which is an NPR article, caught my eye because it addressed a whole different thing on pregnancy that all the other articles. When interviewing a medical practitioner, the report made it clear that pregnant women cannot be bound in the house because they need prenatal care, and they cannot assess the baby with the mother at home. The mothers also need fresh air, a walk to stay healthy, and their mental health too. Others who do not have the luxury to work from having to go work for their financial wealth (Wamsley 2020).
A little different from the issue of pregnancy and healthcare, Parker (2020) was different looked at the entire wellbeing of the nurses and doctors in the front lines. The article thanked them for their courage and sacrifice since some could not go back to their families due to the risk they were exposed to. This was very rare because all the articles were focused on women’s and patients’ wellbeing (Parker, 2020).
By conducting this exercise, it was clear how the same issue affecting society can be covered very differently by different media outlets. It is only through careful analysis that one can get a clear picture and the facts from the opinions. Sometimes, media outlets also fail to ask or concentrate on more essential ideas or information that would help the wellbeing of society.
References
Brown, G. (2020). ‘It’s something I never imagined having to do’: Women face childbirth alone. Good Morning America. Retrieved 10 August 2020, from https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/imagined-women-face-childbirth-partners-amid-coronavirus-outbreak-69712411.
Caron, C., & Syckle, K. (2020). Some Pregnant Women in New York City Will Have to Deliver Babies Alone. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 10 August 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/parenting/coronavirus-labor-birth.html?searchResultPosition=1.
Corbin, C. (2020). Coronavirus unknowns altering pregnancy for many expectant moms. Fox News. Retrieved 10 August 2020, from https://www.foxnews.com/health/coronavirus-unknowns-altering-pregnancy-for-expectant-moms.
Leana, D. (2020). Pregnancy and COVID-19: New York hospital disallows partners during childbirth. MSNBC.com. Retrieved 10 August 2020, from https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/pregnancy-and-covid-19-new-york-hospital-disallows-partners-during-childbirth-81110085913.
Marshall, J. (2020). New Study of Pregnant Women and COVID19 in New York City. Talking Points Memo. Retrieved 10 August 2020, from https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/new-study-of-pregnant-women-and-covid19-in-new-york-city.
Murthy, K. (2020). Giving birth in the epicenter of the pandemic. PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 10 August 2020, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/giving-birth-in-the-epicenter-of-the-pandemic.
Parker, A. (2020). Thank You: Amid the Pandemic, Nurses on the Front Lines Give up Their Homes and Families That We May Be Saved. RedState. Retrieved 10 August 2020, from https://www.redstate.com/alexparker/2020/03/22/pandemic-coronavirus-nurses-hospital-staff-brave-distance-families/.
Roxby, P. (2020). Higher coronavirus risk for pregnant BAME women. BBC News. Retrieved 10 August 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/health-52965722.
Wamsley, L. (2020). NPR Choice page. Npr.org. Retrieved 10 August 2020, from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/07/17/891455307/navigating-pregnancy-risks-in-the-covid-19-era.