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.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite concerns about worsening pregnancy outcomes resulting from healthcare restrictions, economic difficulties and increased stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, preterm birth (PTB) rates declined in some countries in 2020, while stillbirth rates appeared stable. Like other shocks, the pandemic may have exacerbated existing socioeconomic disparities in pregnancy, but this remains to be established. Our objective was to investigate changes in PTB and stillbirth by socioeconomic status (SES) in European countries.

Methods

The Euro-Peristat network implemented this study within the Population Health Information Research Infrastructure (PHIRI) project. A common data model was developed to collect aggregated tables from routine birth data for 2015-2020. SES was base

SUBMITTER: Zeitlin J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11215324 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature