TY - JOUR T1 - Social Distancing in the Era of COVID-19: A Call for Maintaining Social Support for the Maternal Population JF - Global Health: Science and Practice JO - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT DO - 10.9745/GHSP-D-20-00398 AU - Alaa Alhomaizi AU - Dalal Alhomaizi AU - Sandra Willis AU - Helen Verdeli Y1 - 2021/04/23 UR - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/early/2021/04/27/GHSP-D-20-00398.abstract N2 - Key MessagesPregnant, laboring, and postpartum women are navigating the challenges inherent to the perinatal period against the backdrop of a global pandemic but without a key protective factor—social support.Formal and informal social support systems for mothers need to be prioritized, even during pandemics, and failure to do so will greatly affect mothers, their infants, and their whole households.When determining policies to mitigate the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), policy makers should take a harm reduction approach that incorporates feasible and innovative strategies to ensure the continuation of maternal social support.Policy makers need to engage and empower mothers as well as the associated professional communities to voice their needs and to inform and participate in the policy formulation process to ensure the creation of policies that are better suited to maternal social support needs during the pandemic.Over the past year, the strategies used around the globe to slow the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have radically changed everyday life for millions of households. Conversing behind masks, avoiding physical proximity with people from outside the household, and viewing one another as potential biohazard carriers have severely disrupted the social and cultural connections that are vital for human communities, especially during crises. The adverse mental health effects of previous infectious disease outbreaks, such as Ebola, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and H1N1 influenza epidemics, have been documented on a number of populations and subgroups.1,2 However, with the notable exception of HIV/AIDS, the literature on the mental health effects of recent epidemics has left out one particularly vulnerable group—expectant and new mothers.3,4 The current pandemic was different in this regard. There has been an increased awareness of its maternal mental health ramifications, with more than 2 dozen studies already published within a year on the … ER -