ArticleThe Australian & New Zealand journal of obstetrics & gynaecology2022
A decline in planned, but not spontaneous, preterm birth rates in a large Australian tertiary maternity centre during COVID-19 mitigation measures.
Article in The Australian & New Zealand journal of obstetrics & gynaecology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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
- Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Public health · 2022Pooled it
- Prevalence and Patterns of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure in Australian Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies: A Systematic Review of Data Collection Approaches.International journal of environmental research and public health · 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
- A systematic review of COVID-19's impact on pregnancy outcomes.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Review
- Socioeconomic disparities in changes to preterm birth and stillbirth rates during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: a study of 21 European countries.European journal of public health · 2024Article
- The paradoxical influence of the COVID-19 lockdown period on different types of preterm births in Alberta: a provincial study.Paediatrics & child health · 2024Article
- Analysis of Vaginal Microbiota Variations in the Third Trimester of Pregnancy and Their Correlation with Preterm Birth: A Case-Control Study.Microorganisms · 2024Article
- Indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on risk of gestational diabetes and factors contributing to increased risk in a multiethnic population: a retrospective cohort study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- Changes in preterm birth and stillbirth during COVID-19 lockdowns in 26 countries.Nature human behaviour · 2023Article
- Preterm birth and stillbirth rates associated with socioeconomic disparities during COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based cross-sectional study.BMJ paediatrics open · 2023Article
- Using electronic medical records to understand the impact of SARS-CoV-2 lockdown measures on maternal and neonatal outcomes in Kampala, Uganda.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Reduction in preterm birth rates during and after the COVID-19 lockdown in Queensland Australia.The Australian & New Zealand journal of obstetrics & gynaecology · 2022Article
- Fetal death after the introduction of COVID-19 mitigation measures in Sweden, Denmark and Norway: a registry-based study.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Impact of the 1st Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdown on In Utero Transfer Activity in the Paris Area, France.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Article
- Preterm birth after the introduction of COVID-19 mitigation measures in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark: a registry-based difference-in-differences study.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2022Article
- Obstetric interventions and pregnancy outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in England: A nationwide cohort study.PLoS medicine · 2022Article
- Prevalence of Preterm Birth Rate During COVID-19 Lockdown in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Riyadh.Cureus · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundReports from around the world suggest that rates of preterm birth decreased during COVID-19 lockdown measures.
aimsTo compare the prevalence of preterm birth and stillbirth rates during COVID-19 restriction measures with infants born at the same maternity centre during the same weeks in 2013-2019. MATERIALS AND
methodsDeidentified data were extracted from the Mater Mothers' healthcare records database. This is a supra-regional tertiary perinatal centre. Logistic regressions were used to examine singleton live preterm birth rates during the beginning of COVID-19 restrictions (16 March-17 April; 'early'; 6955 births) and during the strictest part of COVID-19 restrictions (30 March-1 May; 'late'; 6953 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. Singleton stillbirth rates were also examined between 16 March-1 May.
resultsPlanned moderate/late preterm births declined by more than half during early COVID-19 restrictions compared with the previous seven years (29 vs an average of 64 per 1000 births; adjusted odds ratio 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.
conclusionsTogether with evidence from other nations, the pandemic provides a unique opportunity to identify causal and preventative factors for preterm birth.
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