Main Article Content
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Covid 19 is a pandemic which created anxiety especially among the antenatal women regarding their health and the fetus in the womb. During the lockdown period this apprehension doubled and we had to use telemedicine as a tool for clearing their queries. We wanted to assess the perception of telemedicine as a consultation method by antenatal women in a covid 19 pandemic.
METHODS
It was a cross sectional study involving 100 antenatal women conducted in 2019 for over three months. The telephonic consultation was done and counseled them regarding nutrition, covid prevention, warning signs and high risk factors where she has to report to the hospital immediately. Feedback on their perception was obtained by Likert scale and analysed.
RESULTS
A majority of antenatal women (92%) opined that telemedicine was useful for clearing their queries. They felt that it should be integrated on regular basis and done continuosly. All 100 women were asked the same questions. Teleconsultation was satisfactory for 84%, for 12% it was just satisfactory: They were from urban area & educated, on the other extreme 4% women were highly satisfied: They were from rural area & illiterate. Irrespective of socioeconomic status we got calls. Patients’ views on telemedicine were - Asset for gaining confidence (72%), Useful for themselves & family members (10%), excellent for clearing apprehension and anxiety (8%), wanted multiple counselling sessions through out pregnancy (6%) and could avoid issues related to high risk pregnancy (4%). On the whole, majority ( 94%) of them expressed that examination part was missing and they were still worried about baby.
CONCLUSIONS
Though the traditional approach was missing, telemedicine was good for antenatal women on the whole for better communication with the doctors in the lockdown period due to covid 19 pandemic.
Keywords
Article Details

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References
- Zhen H, Li N, Li D, et al. Telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic: experiences from western China. J Med Internet Res 2020;22(5):e19577.
- Bashshur R, Doarn CR, Frenk JM, et al. Telemedicine and the COVID-19 pandemic. Lessons Future 2020;26(5):571-3.
- Bokolo AJ. Exploring the adoption of telemedicine and virtual software for care of outpatients during and after COVID-19 pandemic. Ir J Med Sci 2021;190(1).
- Vg C, Ay N, Taneja N. Telemedicine in India: where do we stand? J Family Med Primary Care 2019;8(6):1872.
- Dasgupta A, Deb S. Telemedicine: a new horizon in public health in India. Indian J Community Med 2008;33(1):3.
- Greiner AL. Telemedicine applications in obstetrics and gynecology. Clin Obstet Gynecol 2017;60(4):853-66.
- de Mooij MJM, Hodny RL, O’Neil DA, et al. OB Nest: reimagining low-risk prenatal care. Mayo Clin Proc 2018;93(4):458-66.
- Magann EF, McKelvey SS, Hitt WC, et al. The use of telemedicine in obstetrics: a review of the literature. Obstet Gynecol Surv 2011;66(3):170-8.
- Flodgren G, Rachas A, Farmer AJ, et al. Interactive telemedicine: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes. Cochrane Libr 2015;2015:CD002098.
- DeNicola N, Grossman D, Marko K, et al. Telehealth interventions to improve obstetric and gynecologic health outcomes: a systematic review. Obstet Gynecol 2020;135(2):371-82.
- Alves DS, Times VC, da Silva ÉMA, et al. Advances in obstetric telemonitoring: a systematic review. Int J Med Inform 2020;134:104004.
- Kalafat E, Benlioglu C, Thilaganathan B, et al. Home blood pressure monitoring in the antenatal and postpartum period:a systematic review meta-analysis. Pregnancy Hypertens 2020;19:44-51.
- Dowswell T, Carroli G, Duley L, et al. Alternative versus standard packages of antenatal care for low-risk pregnancy. Cochrane Libr 2015;2015:CD000934
- Scott Kruse C, Karem P, Shifflett K, et al. Evaluating barriers to adopting telemedicine worldwide: a systematic review. J Telemed Telecare 2018;24(1):4-12.
- Bhandari NR, Payakachat N, Fletcher DA, et al. Validation of newly developed surveys to evaluate patients’ and providers’ satisfaction with telehealth obstetric services. Telemed e-Health 2019;26(7):879-88.
References
Zhen H, Li N, Li D, et al. Telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic: experiences from western China. J Med Internet Res 2020;22(5):e19577.
Bashshur R, Doarn CR, Frenk JM, et al. Telemedicine and the COVID-19 pandemic. Lessons Future 2020;26(5):571-3.
Bokolo AJ. Exploring the adoption of telemedicine and virtual software for care of outpatients during and after COVID-19 pandemic. Ir J Med Sci 2021;190(1).
Vg C, Ay N, Taneja N. Telemedicine in India: where do we stand? J Family Med Primary Care 2019;8(6):1872.
Dasgupta A, Deb S. Telemedicine: a new horizon in public health in India. Indian J Community Med 2008;33(1):3.
Greiner AL. Telemedicine applications in obstetrics and gynecology. Clin Obstet Gynecol 2017;60(4):853-66.
de Mooij MJM, Hodny RL, O’Neil DA, et al. OB Nest: reimagining low-risk prenatal care. Mayo Clin Proc 2018;93(4):458-66.
Magann EF, McKelvey SS, Hitt WC, et al. The use of telemedicine in obstetrics: a review of the literature. Obstet Gynecol Surv 2011;66(3):170-8.
Flodgren G, Rachas A, Farmer AJ, et al. Interactive telemedicine: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes. Cochrane Libr 2015;2015:CD002098.
DeNicola N, Grossman D, Marko K, et al. Telehealth interventions to improve obstetric and gynecologic health outcomes: a systematic review. Obstet Gynecol 2020;135(2):371-82.
Alves DS, Times VC, da Silva ÉMA, et al. Advances in obstetric telemonitoring: a systematic review. Int J Med Inform 2020;134:104004.
Kalafat E, Benlioglu C, Thilaganathan B, et al. Home blood pressure monitoring in the antenatal and postpartum period:a systematic review meta-analysis. Pregnancy Hypertens 2020;19:44-51.
Dowswell T, Carroli G, Duley L, et al. Alternative versus standard packages of antenatal care for low-risk pregnancy. Cochrane Libr 2015;2015:CD000934
Scott Kruse C, Karem P, Shifflett K, et al. Evaluating barriers to adopting telemedicine worldwide: a systematic review. J Telemed Telecare 2018;24(1):4-12.
Bhandari NR, Payakachat N, Fletcher DA, et al. Validation of newly developed surveys to evaluate patients’ and providers’ satisfaction with telehealth obstetric services. Telemed e-Health 2019;26(7):879-88.