TABLE 2.

Joint display: Qualitative themes with convergent quantitative data

Pandemic care experience: Major qualitative themes	Convergent quantitative data	Mitigating factors: Major qualitative themes
Anticipatory stress and fear “my biggest takeaway is that the lead up to the birth was terrifying”	The more informed a participant felt, the lower their stress level. Conversely, those participants who felt ill‐informed reported the highest stress levels	Information and affirmation “I felt that my care providers were very transparent with information and reassured me of the care plan I had chosen”
Community birth “COVID solidified my choice to give birth outside a hospital”	47% (188) participants considered giving birth at home or in a birth center that was not located inside a hospital. Participants who had a community birth had the most satisfaction and felt the best informed	Access and options “With or without COVID‐19, more women, especially WOC (women of color) and African American women should have the option and have the resources facilitated for births outside hospital”
Unnecessary interventions “I chose to induce at 39 weeks to get in and out of the hospital hopefully before anything got worse”	53 participants had a mandatory epidural, labor induction, or mandatory cesarean due to COVID‐19. 58% (94/162) of participants had an unplanned cesarean	Advocacy “I do think giving birth without my doula caused me to opt for more interventions than I would have in normal circumstances”
The pandemic care rush “I sincerely hope it (COVID) sheds light on how utterly broken our maternity care system is”	31% of participants held back asking questions because their doctor or midwife felt rushed. Of these, 36% (95/262) of OB participants felt rushed vs. 21% (27/130) of midwifery participants	The midwifery model of care “Your Dr/doula/midwife should be your most trusted advisor. You should feel comfortable asking any question and they should give answers to the best of their knowledge”