Coparent Exclusion, Prenatal Experiences, and Mental Health During COVID-19 in Sweden

Pregnant women were classified as a risk group during the COVID-19 pandemic, and restrictions resulted in nonbirthing parents being excluded from antenatal care and in uncertain or brief involvement in the birth of the child. Sweden presents a unique context for examining parents' experiences during the pandemic because of the country's policy to not enforce lockdown and its commitment to gender equality in parenting. This study aimed to explore the experiences and mental health of expecting parents in Sweden by combining qualitative content analysis of parents' own narratives (n = 212) and quantitative analysis of established measures of perinatal depression, anxiety, and self-efficacy (N = 378). Content analysis indicated that parents reported feeling isolated and missing social support. Regarding the medical context, nonbirthing parents reported feeling excluded, and birthing parents reported increased worry about a potential birth with their partner absent. However, parents with a partner also reported feeling closer with their coparent and appreciating the increased time and nearness. Quantitative results indicated that symptoms of depression and anxiety significantly predicted mentions of feeling isolated and absence of mentions of positives. Concerns of exclusion were significantly linked to lower self-efficacy. Together, the findings highlight the risks of reducing social support and excluding nonbirthing parents in health care during the pandemic, as well as the potential for more positive perinatal experiences if parents' time together is enabled in the prenatal period. Implications for health care and workplaces are discussed.