After COVID-19 outbreak, there has been changes in maternity care suggesting that childbirth experience was also change. This study thus investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on childbirth experiences in Slovak hospitals, focusing on women's perspectives to childbirth experience. Utilizing data from the Babies Born Better survey, we analyzed responses from 810 women who gave birth in Slovakia between March 2020 and June 2022. Via inductive content analysis we identified 4 main themes: Compassionate and Supportive Care, Medical Expertise and Care, Autonomy and Empowerment, and External Conditions. Our research has provided further evidence of the multifaceted nature of childbirth experience. The childbirth experience in a period of general adversity (such as pandemics) may have not been captured in this research or it may not significantly differ from periods of non-adversity. What is important for women remain unchanged - compassionate and supportive care from healthcare providers. Based on our findings we propose improvements in maternal healthcare during childbirth. These improvements aim not only to improve women's childbirth experience but also foster better healthcare outcomes for professionals and hospitals.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

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The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

This survey underwent an ethical approval process at the University of Central Lancashire, UK, Committee for Ethics and Integrity (STEMH 449 Amendment_1Jun20).

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I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

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Data are available from the corresponding author with the permission of Babies Born Better Collaborative Group.