Characteristics and Rates of Preterm Births During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Population-based analyses provided divergent data on the changes in preterm birth rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is a gap of knowledge on the variations in birth characteristics.

Objective

To study changes in perinatal care, causes of preterm delivery, and very preterm (VPT; defined as <32 weeks' gestation) birth rates before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design, setting, and participants

This population-level cohort study used data from the quality assurance registry, which covers all births in Hesse, Germany. Deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020) were compared with the corresponding grouped prepandemic time intervals (2017 to 2019). Analyses were executed between August 2023 and July 2024.

Exposures

Analyses were directe

SUBMITTER: Staude B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11388025 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature