Danish premature birth rates during the COVID-19 lockdown

Hedermann, Gitte; Hedley, Paula L.; Bækvad‐Hansen, Marie; Hjalgrim, Henrik; Rostgaard, Klaus; Poorisrisak, Porntiva; Breindahl, Morten; Melbye, Mads; Hougaard, David M.; Christiansen, Michael; Lausten-Thomsen, Ulrik

doi:10.1136/archdischild-2020-319990

Cited by 236 publications

(367 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…These results at least suggest that the number of high-risk newborns requiring intensive neonatal care was decreased during this outbreak, even though the possibility of the hospitals' incapability of providing intensive neonatal care remains. Combined with consistent findings in three early reports in Europe, [1][2][3] our study reinforces the hypothesis that changes in lifestyles at the maternal and community levels during the COVID-19 outbreak (movement restriction and the increased focus on infection prevention measures) might have had a positive secondary effect on maternal or fetal conditions, possibly through reduced rates of intrauterine infections or alleviated maternal physical stress. Our findings reappraise the importance of arranging the prenatal living environment to protect newborns and mothers.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Trends in intensive neonatal care during the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan

Maeda

Nakamura²,

Ninomiya

et al. 2020

Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed

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The reduction in the use of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) during the COVID-19 outbreak has been reported, but whether this phenomenon is widespread across countries is unclear. Using a large-scale inpatient database in Japan, we analysed the intensive neonatal care volume and the number of preterm births for weeks 10–17 vs weeks 2–9 (during and before the outbreak) of 2020 with adjustment for the trends during the same period of 2019. We found statistically significant reductions in the numbers of NICU admissions (adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR), 0.76; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.89) and neonatal resuscitations (aIRR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.55) during the COVID-19 outbreak. Along with the decrease in the intensive neonatal care volume, preterm births before 34 gestational weeks (aIRR, 0.71) and between 34 0/7 and 36 6/7 gestational weeks (aIRR, 0.85) also showed a significant reduction. Further studies about the mechanism of this phenomenon are warranted.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Trends in intensive neonatal care during the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan

Maeda

Nakamura²,

Ninomiya

et al. 2020

Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed

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“…Studies from the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, and Japan demonstrated a reduction in preterm births following the implementation of lockdown measures. [2][3][4][5][6] In contrast, studies from the United States in California and Philadelphia reported no significant change in preterm births after lockdown. [7,8] In this NYC study, we observed comparable rates in prematurity and NICU admissions after the implementation of lockdown measures when compared to those of the same time period in previous years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Several reports linked COVID-19 lockdown measures to reduced rates of prematurity, providing possible mechanisms for prematurity prevention. [2][3][4][5][6] To date, this link has not been assessed in NYC, one of the hardest hit and most populous, diverse cities in the United States. Furthermore, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions, which are related but not exclusively modified by prematurity rates, may also be impacted by lockdown measures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neonatal outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City

Richter

Strasser

Suárez‐Fariñas

et al. 2020

Preprint

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We explored rates of premature births and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions at the Mount Sinai Hospital after the implementation of COVID-19 lockdown measures (March 16, 2020) and phase one reopening (June 8, 2020), comparing them to those of the same time periods from 2012-2019. Mount Sinai Hospital is in New York City (NYC), an early epicenter of COVID-19 in the United States, which was heavily impacted by the pandemic during the study period. Among 43,963 singleton births, we observed no difference in either outcome after the implementation of lockdown measures when compared to the same trends in prior years (p=0.09-0.35). Of interest, we observed a statistically significant decrease in premature births after NYC phase one reopening compared to those of the same time period in 2012-2019 across all time windows (p=0.0028-0.049), and a statistically significant decrease in NICU admissions over the largest time window (2.75 months) compared to prior years (p=0.0011).

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“…In maternity care however, consequences of the imposed restrictions have been mixed. Early reports from some countries suggest that although stillbirth rates increased (3)(4)(5), rates of preterm birth actually decreased (5)(6)(7)(8)(9). It is not clear if there is a similar trend in Australia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preterm birth rates in a large tertiary Australian maternity centre during COVID-19 mitigation measures

Gallo

Gallo²,

Borg

et al. 2020

Preprint

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ObjectivesTo compare the prevalence of live preterm birth rates during COVID-19 restriction measures with infants born during the same weeks in 2013-2019 in Queensland, Australia.Design, setting, participantsDeidentified obstetric and neonatal data were extracted from the Mater Mothers’ electronic healthcare records database. This is a supra-regional tertiary perinatal centre.Main outcome measuresLogistic regressions were used to examine preterm birth rates during the beginning of COVID-19 restrictions (16 March-17 April; “early”; 6,955 births) and during the strictest part of COVID-19 restrictions (30 March-1 May; “late”; 6,953 births), according to gestational age subgroups and birth onset (planned or spontaneous). We adjusted for multiple covariates, including maternal age, body mass index, ethnicity, parity, socioeconomic status, maternal asthma, diabetes mellitus and/or hypertensive disorder. Stillbirth rates were also examined (16 March-1 May).ResultsA reduction in planned moderate/late preterm births was observed primarily during the early restriction period compared with the same calendar weeks in the previous seven years (29 versus an average of 64 per 1,000 births; adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.39, 95% CI 0.22-0.71). There was no effect on extremely or very preterm infants, spontaneous preterm births, or stillbirth rates. Rolling averages from January to June revealed a two-week non-significant spike in spontaneous preterm births from late-April to early-May, 2020.ConclusionsPlanned births for moderate/late preterm infants more than halved during early COVID-19 mitigation measures. Together with evidence from other nations, the COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to identify causal and preventative factors for preterm birth.

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Danish premature birth rates during the COVID-19 lockdown

Cited by 236 publications

References 5 publications

Trends in intensive neonatal care during the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan

Trends in intensive neonatal care during the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan

Neonatal outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City

Preterm birth rates in a large tertiary Australian maternity centre during COVID-19 mitigation measures

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