Lack of Changes in Preterm Delivery and Stillbirths During COVID-19 Lockdown in a European Region

Abstract Preliminary data in Europe have suggested a reduction in prematurity rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, implying that contingency measures could have an impact on prematurity rates. We designed a population-based prevalence proportion study to explore the potential link between national lockdown measures and a change in preterm births and stillbirths. Adjusted multivariate analyses did not show any decrease in preterm proportions during the lockdown period with respect to the whole pre-lockdown period or to the pre-lockdown comparison periods (2015-2019): 6.5% (95%CI 5.6-7.4), 6.6% (95%CI 6.5-6.8), and 6.2% (95%CI 5.7-6.7), respectively. Proportions of preterm live births did not change during lockdown when different gestational age categories were analyzed, nor when birthweight categories were considered. No differences in stillbirth rates among the different study periods were found: 0.33% (95%CI 0.04-0.61) during the lockdown period vs 0.34% (95%CI 0.22-0.46) during the pre-lockdown comparison period (2015-2019).ConclusionWe did not find any link between prematurity and lockdown, nor between stillbirths and lockdown. Collaborative efforts are desirable to gather more data and additional evidence on this global health issue.