A recent study conducted in Nepal assessed the indirect impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the quality of intrapartum care that women received in health facilities. The study, published in The Lancet, looks at the implications of a reduced access to care, but also at the gaps in the quality of the care provided.

Dr. Ashish K.C, who led the study, is a perinatal epidemiologist and a researcher specializing in quality of care, based in the Department of Women's and Children's Health, University of Uppsala, Sweden. He tells us about the study's findings, their implications during the COVID-19 lockdown, and how health workers have developed solutions to provide quality intrapartum care even under extraordinary circumstances.