Experiences with family planning and abortion services during the Covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative study in Bangladesh, Iran and Netherlands
Abstract
Access to family planning services is a human right that plays an essential role in society's health, particularly women's health. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of human life including access to family planning services.
Accordingly, the main goal of this study was to explore the experiences of women and service providers from the main challenges and obstacles of access to family planning services and abortion services in Bangladesh, Iran, and the Netherlands during the COVID-19 pandemic.The main extracted themes were challenges (reduction of referral; disruption of access to services; insufficient knowledge; worries among staff; rising prices; and unavailability of some contraceptives), measures (time extension and visit scheduling; telephone, online, and door to door services; and support of the media) and recommendations (health facility improvements; free, online, and closer services; and ongoing trainings and awareness campaigns). The COVID-19 pandemic has affected family planning and reproductive health services in different ways and has uncovered existing inequalities in access to these services.
However, in Iran, the reported challenges were also rooted in new population policies that have further limited access to family planning and abortion services.