Objectives: COVID-19 resulted in significant disruption to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services globally and the impact of this remains under explored. This study aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 on SRH during the initial weeks of the first UK lockdown.
Design: This rapid study employed a cross-sectional anonymous survey design. Between 9th April and 4th May 2020, participants completed an online questionnaire around the impacts of COVID-19 on SRH. The survey was completed by 194 participants. The findings in this paper, report on data from closed and free text questions from 32% (n = 62) of the total sample who said they were able to get pregnant.
Results: Participants raised concerns around reduced access to, or a denial of, SRH services as well as reduced choice when such services were available. Participants felt their right to access SRH care was impinged and there were anxieties around the impact of COVID-19 on maternal and foetal health.
Conclusions: The study contributes to a better understanding of the concerns, during the first 8 weeks of the UK lockdown, of those who could get pregnant. Policy makers and planners must ensure that SRH policy, that recognises the importance of bodily autonomy and rights, is central to pandemic planning and responses both in the UK and globally. Such policies should ensure the immediate implementation of protocols that protect SRH service delivery, alongside informing service users of both their right to access such care and how to do so. Further work is necessary with members from minority communities who are mostly absent from this study to explore if, and how, COVID-19 may have exacerbated already existing disparities.
Keywords: Abortion; Access to care; Contraception; Reproductive health; Rights-based approaches; Sexual health.
Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.