Impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on preterm delivery

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveControversies exist on whether the pandemic lockdown has resulted in a lower rate of preterm deliveries. A higher stillbirth rate was also reported. This retrospective observational study aimed to examine the rate of preterm delivery and stillbirth in a tertiary hospital in Hong Kong during COVID‐19 pandemic.MethodsData from 8787 singleton pregnancies at Queen Mary Hospital between April 2018 to September 2021 were retrieved from the clinical management system and obstetric database. Rates of preterm delivery (<37 weeks), low birth weight infants (<2500 g), and stillbirth in the pre‐pandemic (April 2018 to September 2019) and pandemic (April 2020 to September 2021) periods were compared.ResultsTotal numbers of singleton deliveries during the pre‐pandemic and pandemic periods were 5064 and 3723, respectively. Background demographics were comparable, except 3 were higher rates of cesarean sections (30.7% vs. 25.8%; p < 0.05) and hypertensive disorders (1.4% vs. 0.7%; p < 0.05) in the pandemic cohort. Moreover, more women with a spontaneous onset of labor had a history of preterm delivery (3.5% vs. 2.4%; p < 0.05) during the pandemic. Rates of low birth weight infants (8.7% vs. 7.4%; p = 0.03) and spontaneous preterm deliveries (2.6% vs. 1.7%; p = 0.01), particularly spontaneous moderate‐to‐late preterm delivery (32–36 weeks) (1.9% vs. 1.2%; p = 0.01) were significantly higher during COVID‐19. However, no statistical difference was found in stillbirth rates (0.2% vs. 0.4%; p = 0.17).ConclusionsRates of spontaneous preterm delivery and low birth weight babies increased significantly during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This could be related to an increase in maternal stress, or a change in behavioral patterns for pregnant women.