ArticleThe Lancet. Public health2020
Impact of COVID-19 mitigation measures on the incidence of preterm birth: a national quasi-experimental study.
Article in The Lancet. Public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 142 papers, 14 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
142 citing papers in PubMed, 14 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 0 citations in OpenAlex.
- Preterm Birth and Perinatal Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic Period: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of paediatrics and child health · 2026Pooled it
- The association of COVID-19 lockdowns with adverse birth and pregnancy outcomes in 28 high-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Nature human behaviour · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of COVID-19 on individual mental health and maternal health services in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy and Clinical Outcomes of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine in Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Intervirology · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The impact of mitigation measures on perinatal outcomes during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review with meta-analysis.European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology · 2022Pooled it
- COVID-19 pandemic and population-level pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in general population: A living systematic review and meta-analysis (Update#2: November 20, 2021).Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2022Pooled it
- Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in general population: A living systematic review and meta-analysis (updated Aug 14, 2021).Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2022Pooled it
- The impact of COVID-19 first wave national lockdowns on perinatal outcomes: a rapid review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2021Pooled it
- COVID-19 pandemic and population-level pregnancy and neonatal outcomes: a living systematic review and meta-analysis.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2021Pooled it
- Effect of Natural Disaster-Related Prenatal Maternal Stress on Child Development and Health: A Meta-Analytic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and perinatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Lancet. Global health · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2021Pooled it
- Temporal Trends in Preterm Birth Associated With Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy in Victoria, Australia: A Population-Based Interrupted Time-Series Study.The Medical journal of Australia · 2026Article
- Disruptions in perinatal outcomes across Manitoba, Canada: before and over 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic.BMJ paediatrics open · 2026Article
- Time series analysis of impact of COVID-19 on infant and neonatal mortality in the United States.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Parental socioeconomic composition of birth cohorts changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Impact of COVID-19 Infection Rates on Pregnancy Outcomes and Disparities in Florida.Maternal and child health journal · 2025Article
- The impact of changes in health policies caused by COVID-19 on pregnancy outcomes in Iran during health crises: A retrospective quasi-experimental study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
82 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPreterm birth is the leading cause of child mortality globally, with many survivors experiencing long-term adverse consequences. Preliminary evidence suggests that numbers of preterm births greatly reduced following implementation of policy measures aimed at mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to study the impact of the COVID-19 mitigation measures implemented in the Netherlands in a stepwise fashion on March 9, March 15, and March 23, 2020, on the incidence of preterm birth.
methodsWe used a national quasi-experimental difference-in-regression-discontinuity approach. We used data from the neonatal dried blood spot screening programme (2010-20) cross-validated against national perinatal registry data. Stratified analyses were done according to gestational age subgroups, and sensitivity analyses were done to assess robustness of the findings. We explored potential effect modification by neighbourhood socioeconomic status, sex, and small-for-gestational-age status.
findingsData on 1 599 547 singleton neonates were available, including 56 720 births that occurred after implementation of COVID-19 mitigation measures on March 9, 2020. Consistent reductions in the incidence of preterm birth were seen across various time windows surrounding March 9 (± 2 months [n=531 823] odds ratio [OR] 0·77, 95% CI 0·66-0·91, p=0·0026; ± 3 months [n=796 531] OR 0·85, 0·73-0·98, p=0·028; ± 4 months [n=1 066 872] OR 0·84, 0·73-0·97, p=0·023). Decreases in incidence observed following the March 15 measures were of smaller magnitude, but not statistically significant. No changes were observed after March 23. Reductions in the incidence of preterm births after March 9 were consistent across gestational age strata and robust in sensitivity analyses. They appeared confined to neighbourhoods of high socioeconomic status, but effect modification was not statistically significant.
interpretationIn this national quasi-experimental study, initial implementation of COVID-19 mitigation measures was associated with a substantial reduction in the incidence of preterm births in the following months, in agreement with preliminary observations elsewhere. Integration of comparable data from across the globe is needed to further substantiate these findings and start exploring underlying mechanisms.
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