Objective
Investigate the acute impact of COVID-19 mitigation measures implemented in March 2020 on a comprehensive range of perinatal outcomes.
Study design
National registry-based quasi-experimental study.
Methods
We obtained data from the Dutch Perinatal Registry (2010-2020) which was linked to multiple population registries containing sociodemographic variables. A difference-in-discontinuity approach was used to examine the impact of COVID-19 mitigation measures on various perinatal outcomes. We investigated preterm birth incidence across onset types, alongside other perinatal outcomes including low birth weight, small-for-gestational-age, NICU admission, low-APGAR-score, perinatal mortality, neonatal death, and stillbirths.
Results
The analysis of the national-level dataset revealed a consistent pattern of reduced preterm births after the enactment of COVID-19 mitigation measures on March 9, 2020 (OR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.68-0.96). A drop in spontaneous preterm births post-implementation was observed (OR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.62-0.98), whereas no change was observed for iatrogenic births. Regarding stillbirths (OR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.46-1.95) our analysis did not find compelling evidence of substantial changes. For the remaining outcomes, no discernible shifts were observed.
Conclusions
Our findings confirm the reduction in preterm births following COVID-19 mitigation measures in the Netherlands. No discernible changes were observed for other outcomes, including stillbirths. Our results challenge previous concerns of a potential increase in stillbirths contributing to the drop in preterm births, suggesting alternative mechanisms.
Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
Overview publication
| Title | Impact of COVID-19 mitigation measures on perinatal outcomes in the Netherlands. |
| Date | September 18th, 2024 |
| Issue name | Public health |
| Issue number | v236:322-327 |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.puhe.2024.09.002 |
| PubMed | 39299086 |
| Authors | |
| Info | PREPARE Consortium, Ambrosino E, Van den Auweele K, Been J, Beijers R, Bertens L, Bloemenkamp K, Boderie N, Burdorf L, Burgos Ochoa L, de Jonge A, de Weerth C, Franx A, Harper S, Kazemier BM, Klein PP, Kretz D, Labrecque J, Mol BW, Muris J, Nieuwenhuijze M, Obermann S, Oudijk M, Peters L, Ramerman L, Ravelli A, Schonewille-Rosman A, Schoenmakers S, Struijs J, Torij H, Van Beukering M, van den Akker T, van den Heuvel M, van Dillen J, van Lenthe F, Van Ourti T, Verhoeff A, Vermeulen M, Visser N, Willers S |
| Read | Read publication |