ArticleBMJ global health2023
Substantial increase in stillbirth rate during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from a population-based study in the Indian state of Bihar.
Article in BMJ global health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Stillbirths in Colombia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: analysis by geographic location and health insurance.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Late gestation stillbirth epidemiology: findings from a nationally representative mortality survey of one million population sample in India.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- 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
- Seasonal Patterns of Preterm Birth During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Cohort Study in Romania.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Neonatal complications and referral practices at birth: insights from a population-based study in the Indian state of Bihar.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Article
- Coping and experience post an adverse birth outcome for fathers: a population-based perspective from India.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Private sector delivery of care for maternal and newborn health: trends over a decade in the Indian state of Bihar.BMC medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Socio-cultural practices and experience of mothers' post stillbirth and newborn death: a population-based perspective from India.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Epidemiology and placental pathology of intrauterine fetal demise in a tertiary hospital in the Philippines.European journal of obstetrics & gynecology and reproductive biology: X · 2024Article
- Impacts of COVID-19 on mothers' and newborns' health outcomes in regional Canada: A cross-sectional analysis.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Poor coverage of quality-adjusted antenatal care services: a population-level assessment by visit and source of antenatal care services in Bihar state of India.The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2024Article
- Health of singleton neonates in Switzerland through time and crises: a cross-sectional study at the population level, 2007-2022.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Challenges to research implementation during public health emergencies: anecdote of insights and lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic in Gujarat, India.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Mendelian randomization supports genetic liability to hospitalization for COVID-19 as a risk factor of pre-eclampsia.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2024Article
- Preterm birth and stillbirth during COVID-19 pandemic in Bihor County/Romania.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionWe report on the stillbirth rate (SBR) and associated risk factors for births during the COVID-19 pandemic, and change in SBR between prepandemic (2016) and pandemic periods in the Indian state of Bihar.
methodsBirths between July 2020 and June 2021 (91.5% participation) representative of Bihar were listed. Stillbirth was defined as fetal death with gestation period of ≥7 months where the fetus did not show any sign of life. Detailed interviews were conducted for all stillbirths and neonatal deaths, and for 25% random sample of surviving live births. We estimated overall SBR, and during COVID-19 peak and non-peak periods per 1000 births. Multiple logistic regression models were run to assess risk factors for stillbirth. The change in SBR for Bihar from 2016 to 2020-2021 was estimated.
resultsWe identified 582 stillbirths in 30 412 births with an estimated SBR of 19.1 per 1000 births (95% CI 17.7 to 20.7); SBR was significantly higher in private facility (38.4; 95% CI 34.3 to 43.0) than in public facility (8.6; 95% CI 7.3 to 10.1) births, and for COVID-19 peak (21.2; 95% CI 19.2 to 23.4) than non-peak period (16.3; 95% CI 14.2 to 18.6) births. Pregnancies with the last pregnancy trimester during the COVID-19 peak period had 40.4% (95% CI 10.3% to 70.4%) higher SBR than those who did not. Risk factor associations for stillbirths were similar between the COVID-19 peak and non-peak periods, with gestation age of <8 months with the highest odds of stillbirth followed by referred deliveries and deliveries in private health facilities. A statistically significant increase of 24.3% and 68.9% in overall SBR and intrapartum SBR was seen between 2016 and 2020-2021, respectively.
conclusionsThis study documented an increase in SBR during the COVID-19 pandemic as compared with the prepandemic period, and the varied SBR based on the intensity of the COVID-19 pandemic and by the place of delivery.
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