Midwives in the midst of COVID-19

The world has become connected and united through a global pandemic that has drastically changed the normal way of life. The coronavirus, formally known as COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2, is a virus that spreads from close person-to-person interaction with those who have the virus. This somewhat seamless way for COVID-19 to be transmitted has caused numerous countries to implement orders for residents to stay at home.

As highlighted by Kampf et al (2020), ‘currently, the emergence of a novel human coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has become a global health concern, causing severe respiratory tract infections in humans. Human-to-human transmissions have been described with incubation times between 2–10 days, facilitating its spread via droplets, contaminated hands or surfaces.’ Anyone and everyone is at risk of being infected but those within the healthcare sector and on the frontline, such as nurses and midwives, have become severely affected by the pandemic due to increased numbers of sick patients at hospitals and worrying about people who are older, suffering from underlying health conditions or even women who are pregnant.