More participants are needed for a study examining the effects of this year's bushfires and COVID-19 on pregnant women and their babies.
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Namita Mittal gave birth to twins during the lockdown and says that balancing looking after her newborn babies, helping her daughter do school from home and handling the pandemic without her family's support caused her a great deal of anxiety.
"None of my family could fly to visit me from India. Having a family member come to stay with you 24/7 to help with the babies is important to me and different from hiring help. There was extra work for me to do and not having that family support was the main thing that caused me anxiety," Ms Mittal said.
She is one of the 750 women who have already participated in the Mother and Child 2020 study, which is examining the effects of this year's bushfires and COVID-19 on the health and wellbeing of pregnant women and their babies.
The results of MC2020 survey so far don't paint a pretty picture, with 65 per cent of pregnant women and new mothers, in the ACT and southeast NSW saying they were severely exposed to bushfire smoke in our recent summer.
A bit over 85 per cent said they isolated themselves and their family at some point this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU), University of Canberra and University of Wollongong (UOW), in partnership with Canberra Health Services and NSW Health, are urging more women to enrol to increase the strength of the study findings.
They are encouraging mothers from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and multicultural communities to share their experiences.
Dr Danielle Schoenaker from UOW's School of Medicine said the researchers would like to hear from more women in the Illawarra, Shoalhaven, Southern Highlands and South Coast regions about their health, wellbeing, support, and the challenges of being pregnant, having a baby and being a new mum during the bushfires earlier this year and during the pandemic.
"The restrictions imposed as a result of COVID-19 have significantly affected the majority of women who participated in the study so far. Women may have changed their dietary habits, physical activity levels, and missed the close support from family and friends," Dr Schoenaker said.
"A clearer picture of the experiences of women in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions will be used to provide recommendation to health and community services on how to better support families in the future.
"We are very grateful for the women who have already joined the study, and are asking for more local women to participate by completing one or more online surveys to help us find answers that will lead to relevant and appropriate care and services."
The survey is available to anyone who was pregnant or had a baby no older than three months on February 1, 2020 or became pregnant by April 30, 2020 in Canberra and south-eastern New South Wales.
The survey can be accessed online at https://medicalschool.anu.edu.au/research/projects/mother-and-child-2020-mc2020
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
