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Preterm birth rates were slightly lower in Denmark during the first year of the COVID ‐19 pandemic compared with the previous 4 years
Author(s) -
Mølholm Hansen Bo,
Cueto Heidi,
Padkaer Petersen Jesper,
Zachariassen Gitte,
Sønderby Christensen Pia,
Breindahl Morten,
Schiøler Kesmodel Ulrik,
Brink Henriksen Tine
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.16401
Subject(s) - medicine , covid-19 , pandemic , coronavirus infections , betacoronavirus , demography , virology , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty) , disease , sociology
Aim Our aim was to investigate the rates of preterm births, live births and stillbirths in Denmark during the first year of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods This was a national, cross‐sectional registry‐based study that used the Danish Newborn Quality database, which covers all births in Denmark. The proportions of preterm births were compared between the COVID‐19 pandemic period of 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2021 and the preceding 4‐year pre‐pandemic period. Results We studied 60 323 and 244 481 newborn infants from the pandemic and pre‐pandemic periods, respectively. The proportion of preterm live births and stillbirths declined slightly, from 6.29% during the pre‐pandemic period to 6.02% during the pandemic period. This corresponded to a relative risk (RR) of 0.96, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.93–0.99 during the pandemic. The RRs for extremely preterm, very preterm and moderately preterm infants were 0.88 (95% CI 0.76–1.02), 0.91 (95% CI 0.82–1.02) and 0.97 (95% CI 0.93–1.01), respectively. Conclusion This comparative study showed a small reduction in just over 4%, from 6.29 to 6.02% in the proportion of all preterm births during the pandemic period, compared with the previous four pandemic‐free years. There were no differences between subcategories of preterm births.