Virtual Maternity Care in Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Care Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 32
Special Issue Editor
Interests: pregnancy; intrapartum care; ethical and responsible use of health technologies; virtual care; models of care; place of birth
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Innovative technologies have revolutionised the virtual health care space, resulting in people being cared for in their homes and communities. The COVID-19 pandemic induced rapid implementation of virtual healthcare to protect communities from exposure to the risk of infection in ‘brick and mortar’ facilities. However, in the context of maternity care, health systems in some countries have been slower to adopt virtual models than others. Virtual maternity care may have been embedded well before the pandemic; however, it is likely that its implementation was catalysed by COVID-19 and is now here to stay. In other settings, concerns around safety and efficacy, equity, and inclusion, and the preservation of relational care, has brought about a more cautious approach.
Virtual maternity models are incorporated in a range of ways, for example, telehealth consultations, telemonitoring services that provide direct digital linkages between homes and clinics, and postpartum child and family health supports. Hospital-at-Home models may especially benefit those with pregnancy complexities, as long periods of inpatient admission during pregnancy are known to have negative impacts on wellbeing.
In the current climate of overburdened hospitals and the risk of further pandemics, it is evident that research into virtual approaches to maternity care is warranted. Given this background, it is an honour to serve as Guest Editor of this Special Issue, titled ‘Virtual Maternity Care in Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period’, and I look forward to receiving reports of innovative work from around the globe.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome (qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods). Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Virtual maternity care: experiences of service users (women/birthing people and their partners/support persons);
- Virtual maternity care: experiences of maternity care clinicians ;
- Virtual maternity care: service evaluation;
- Virtual maternity care: telehealth communication;
- Virtual maternity care: remote monitoring technologies and their use;
- Virtual maternity care: impact on sustainability and the environment.
I look forward to receiving your contributions.
Kind regards,
Dr. Deborah Fox
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- pregnancy
- postpartum
- virtual maternity care
- antenatal
- prenatal
- remote pregnancy care
- maternity hospital at home
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