Lockdown restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact on many aspects of our lives. In the UK some groups were disproportionately affected. Evidence indicated higher rates of stress and depression among parents during restrictions. Disruption to early years education interrupted preschoolers’ language and cognitive development. Associations between parental health and child behaviour are also apparent, where parents experiencing mental distress report their child has more difficulties with self-regulation. The longer-term impacts on infants born during restrictions, who are now approaching school age, are not yet known. It is important to get parents’ retrospective reflections and explore the longer-term impacts of lockdown restrictions on families. Materials and Methods. The study followed a retrospective qualitative interview design. Recruitment sampling ensured views were gathered from people of different genders, sexual orientations, birth/adoptive status and geographic areas. Those residing outside England were excluded; participants needed to speak sufficient English to be interviewed. Interviews were conducted using Zoom software and analysed using Framework Analysis. Results. Seventeen participants were interviewed. Three overarching themes emerged: navigating antenatal and postnatal care alone; difficult decisions when caring for an infant and the long shadow on the family. Major issues which emerged included attending antenatal appointments - and in some cases giving birth - alone; limited postnatal care; disrupted parental leave; changes in employment and strained relationships. Residual effects continued for some participants, including psychological impacts. Discussion. Although parents were able to report some positive consequences of the pandemic restrictions, the prevailing experience was one of restricted access to services and missed opportunities for support. In the event of a future pandemic, restrictions should accommodate couples from the same household more pragmatically, and children’s developmental checks should not be deprioritised. Finally, as part of post-pandemic provision, in-person antenatal and post-natal care and consistent early years provision remain vital services which must be acknowledged by policy makers.
The fulltext files of this resource are currently embargoed.Embargo end: 2025-08-07
Moss, BeckyHenry, LucyDavies, CatherineDel Rosario,CheloGonzalez-Gomez, Nayeli Hendry, AlexandraHill, ElisabethMcGillion, MichellePrior, EmilyReimers, StianShapiro, LauraVan Blankenstein, EmilyBotting, Nikki
School of Psychology, Social Work and Public Health
Year of publication: 2025Date of RADAR deposit: 2025-01-28
"'This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Journal of Family and Child Health, copyright © MA Healthcare, after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see [journal link].'"