The Temporal Relationship Between the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic and Preterm Birth

Authors

William A. Grobman, Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, Houston, Texas, Columbia University, New York, New York, MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, and the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas; the George Washington University Biostatistics Center, Washington, DC; and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland.
Grecio J. Sandoval
Torri D. Metz
Tracy A. Manuck
Rebecca G. Clifton
Brenna L. Hughes
George R. Saade
Monica Longo
Amber Sowles
Kelly Clark
Hyagriv N. Simhan
Dwight J. Rouse
Hector Mendez-Figueroa
Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman
Jennifer L. Bailit
Maged M. Costantine
Harish M. Sehdev
Alan T. Tita
George A. Macones

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

5-4-2023

Journal

Obstetrics and gynecology

DOI

10.1097/AOG.0000000000005171

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether preterm birth rates changed in relation to the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and whether any change depended on socioeconomic status. METHODS: This is an observational cohort study of pregnant individuals with a singleton gestation who delivered in the years 2019 and 2020 at 1 of 16 U.S. hospitals of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network. The frequency of preterm birth for those who delivered before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (ie, in 2019) was compared with that of those who delivered after its onset (ie, in 2020). Interaction analyses were performed for people of different individual- and community-level socioeconomic characteristics (ie, race and ethnicity, insurance status, Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) of a person's residence). RESULTS: During 2019 and 2020, 18,526 individuals met inclusion criteria. The chance of preterm birth before the COVID-19 pandemic was similar to that after the onset of the pandemic (11.7% vs 12.5%, adjusted relative risk 0.94, 95% CI 0.86-1.03). In interaction analyses, race and ethnicity, insurance status, and the SVI did not modify the association between the epoch and the chance of preterm birth before 37 weeks of gestation (all interaction P>.05). CONCLUSION: There was no statistically significant difference in preterm birth rates in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic onset. This lack of association was largely independent of socioeconomic indicators such as race and ethnicity, insurance status, or SVI of the residential community in which an individual lived.

APA Citation

Grobman, William A.; Sandoval, Grecio J.; Metz, Torri D.; Manuck, Tracy A.; Clifton, Rebecca G.; Hughes, Brenna L.; Saade, George R.; Longo, Monica; Sowles, Amber; Clark, Kelly; Simhan, Hyagriv N.; Rouse, Dwight J.; Mendez-Figueroa, Hector; Gyamfi-Bannerman, Cynthia; Bailit, Jennifer L.; Costantine, Maged M.; Sehdev, Harish M.; Tita, Alan T.; and Macones, George A., "The Temporal Relationship Between the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic and Preterm Birth" (2023). GW Authored Works. Paper 2948.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/2948

Department

Biostatistics and Bioinformatics