evidence: The arrival of COVID-19 disrupted healthcare in various ways. Less urgent services were cancelled or postponed, while barriers imposed by curfews, transport closures and stay-at-home orders prevented some patients from attending appointments. Others avoided health centres and hospitals for fear of becoming infected themselves. [...] Maternal health services were disrupted in approximately half of countries, with declines ranging from 5% to 33%. Family planning visits declined by more than 10% in Chile, Haiti and Mexico, while hospital deliveries and C-sections declined by 5 to 31% in five countries, but were stable elsewhere. Mothers and babies in Haiti and Nepal experienced the greatest reduction in care, with 207 missed visits per 1,000 births in Haiti and 209 missed visits per 1,000 births in Nepal. [...] The researchers identified several reasons for reduced health care use that appeared to be common across countries: fear of contagion, inability to pay for health care because of lost employment or wages, intentional suspension of routine care or redeployment of health workers or hospitals to care for COVID-19 patients, and the barriers imposed by COVID-19 lockdowns.