Women who have experienced preterm birth belongs to the group of the most vulnerable mothers. Premature birth can often become a traumatic event because women often do not anticipate it or do not anticipate the challenges, they may face in giving birth prematurely. The COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine restrictions may have directly affected women who experienced preterm birth during the delivery process and a hospital stay and may have contributed to additional challenges. The aim to reveal the birth-related experience of women who have experienced preterm birth in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. Research material and methods. This study involved 10 women who had experienced preterm birth 2-9 months ago prior interview, and it was their first-time giving birth. A qualitative study was conducted using a semi-structured interview method for data collection. Inductive thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Results. The study found that women who experienced preterm birth reported experiencing confusion, fear, and uncertainty about the future and their child’s health. They felt guilt and started asking the question, “why did this happen to me”? In the postpartum period, women faced difficulties in taking on the new role of a mother, experienced hopelessness, and still felt fear about the child’s health and possible complications. There were also challenges related to visiting a child in an intensive care unit and feeding a premature newborn. Preterm birth has raised fears of giving birth in the future, helped discover new strengths, and changed attitudes towards premature babies and their mothers. Women described preterm birth as a traumatic experience, but motherhood helped them come to terms with the experience. Women reported lacking information about the child‘s condition, the performed tests, and the premature birth while in the hospital. [...]