Evaluation of the effect of Covid-19 pandemic on the process of micronutrient supplementation services provided to pregnant mothers and children up to 18 months of age in the Iranian health system and related health indicators

Abstract

The global epidemic of Covid-19 in 2020, in addition to widespread deaths, reduced access, lack of provision or delay in pregnancy and newborn services due to the fear of contracting the disease, closure of cities and unemployment. This study is designed with the aim of investigating the impact of covid-19 on the complementary services provided to pregnant mothers and children up to 18 months in the rural areas of Tabriz and providing suggestions based on global experiences. Methodology: In this quasi-experimental trial study, background-process and outcome variables were collected in several stages from the health records of rural households in E. Azarbaijan of Tabriz city and entered into SPSS software. The data for the previous years (1396-1398) and during the corona virus of 1400-1399 were prepared and statistically analyzed, and the service trends for the years 1373 to 1401 were also displayed in graphs. To test quantitative variables, Student t-test and qualitative variables Chi-square was used. A two-sided p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Findings: From the number of 5657 samples of pregnant mothers up to 18 months of their child during thirty years (1373-1400), the number of 921 cases related to Corona in the previous two groups (538 equivalents to 58.5%) and 382 cases equivalent to 41.5% related to the years during the covid-19. The level of maternal literacy and the employment status of pregnant mothers in the previous two groups and the corona epidemic had little and insignificant changes, and the rate of cesarean deliveries, first-time pregnancies, abortions and stillbirths showed a statistically significant increase. Complementary services to help pregnant mothers and their children up to 18 months in the two stages before and after Corona did not differ much in terms of quantity.