Stillbirths in Germany: On the rise, but no additional increases during the first COVID-19 lockdown.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To examine possible changes in the rate of stillbirths in Germany during the first COVID-19 lockdown.

Methods

Population-level data of live births and stillbirths occurring between January 1995 and July 2020 were used and negative binomial regression was applied to estimate the rate of stillbirths in this period. The actual rate was compared to the expected figure for 2020.

Results

A steady increase in stillbirths was detected in Germany since 2013. The stillbirth rate for January to July 2020 (4.148) was slightly lower than that of the same period in 2019 (4.242). Furthermore, all monthly rates of stillbirths during the first half of 2020 lie inside the 95% prediction interval of expected stillbirth rates for this period.

Conclusion

A growing body of

SUBMITTER: Kniffka MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9087793 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature