Preterm Birth Rates During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A recent study evaluated variations in preterm birth and stillbirth rates before and during the COVID-19 pandemic as conflicting reports have emerged for rates of preterm births and stillbirths during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The link between COVID-19 and increased preterm births revealed from a recent research, reduces concerns about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on pregnancy.

During the pandemic, the UK, Italy, India and others reported increases in stillbirths and some variability in preterm birth rates. However, most studies were small.

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‘The preterm birth or stillbirth rate during the first year of the COVID-19 crisis is not increased.’

A team led by researchers in the University of Toronto, conducted a large study of more than 2.4 million births in Ontario over an 18-year period and compared trends in the pre-pandemic period (2002-2019) with the pandemic period (January to December 2020).

"We found no unusual changes in rates of preterm birth or stillbirth during the pandemic, which is reassuring," said Dr. Prakesh Shah, a pediatrician-in-chief at Sinai Health and professor at University of Toronto. The results are published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Pandemic-related measures and compliance can affect preterm birth rates in different settings. Thus, the researchers looked at birth outcomes in the public health units where positivity rates for SARS-CoV-2 were higher (Toronto, Peel Region, York Region and Ottawa) and compared urban and rural births and those in neighborhoods with different average income levels.

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Low birthweight is a term given to babies who weigh less than 2,500 grams at birth. These babies look much smaller than babies with normal birthweight.

"In some areas and certain people, the restrictions could be beneficial, and in other settings or individuals, restrictions could have the opposite effect," said Dr Shah.

Though infection, inflammation, stress, medical or pregnancy-induced disorders, genetic predisposition, and environmental factors can contribute to stillbirth and preterm birth, in many instances the cause remains unknown.