Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Dec:255:172-176.
doi: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2020.10.023. Epub 2020 Oct 12.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on maternity services: A review of maternal and neonatal outcomes before, during and after the pandemic

Sarah McDonnell  1 , Emma McNamee  2 , Stephen W Lindow  3 , Michael P O'Connell  4
Affiliations

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on maternity services: A review of maternal and neonatal outcomes before, during and after the pandemic

Sarah McDonnell et al. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: To explore any apparent trends in maternal or neonatal outcomes during the Covid-19 pandemic by comparing the maternity outcomes before, during and after the pandemic.

Study design: A retrospective review was performed of maternity statistics recorded on the hospital database of a large tertiary referral centre in Dublin with over 8000 deliveries per annum from 1st January to 31st July 2020. This time period represented the months prior to, during the peak and following the pandemic in Ireland.

Results: There was no correlation between the monthly number of Covid deaths and the monthly number of perinatal deaths (r = 0.465, NS), preterm births (r = 0.339, NS) or hypertensive pregnancies (r = 0.48, NS). Compared to the combined numbers for the same month in 2018 and 2019, there were no significant changes in perinatal deaths or preterm births in the months when Covid deaths were at their height. The rate of preterm birth was significantly less common in January-July 2020 compared to January-July in 2018/2019 (7.4 % v 8.6 %, chi-sq 4.53, P = 0.03).

Conclusion: The was no evidence of a negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on maternity services, as demonstrated by maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Keywords: Covid 19; Hypertension in pregnancy; Perinatal death; Preterm birth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors report no declarations of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Perinatal Deaths (n) and Preterm Delivery Rate (% of total births) in CWIUH versus Covid-19 related deaths in the ROI 2020. Perinatal Deaths = Stillbirths and Early Neonatal Deaths (first 7 days of life).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Caesarean Section & Assisted Vaginal Delivery Rates (%) versus Total Deliveries (n), by month.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Dotters-Katz S.K., Hughes B.L. Considerations for obstetric care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Am J Perinatol. 2020;37(June (8)):773. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Citizensinformation.ie; 2020. Public health measures for COVID-19 [Internet]https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/covid19/public_health_measu... [cited 10 August 2020]. Available from:
    1. Gov.ie; 2020. Ireland’s response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) [Internet]https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a02c5a-what-is-happening/ [cited 10 August 2020]. Available from:
    1. Covid19ireland-geohive.hub.arcgis.com; 2020. Ireland’s COVID19 data hub [Internet]https://covid19ireland-geohive.hub.arcgis.com/ [cited 10 August 2020]. Available from:
    1. Assets.gov.ie; 2020. Ireland’s national action plan in response to COVID-19 (coronavirus) [internet]https://assets.gov.ie/71520/4f149f2f5baf45d98312ec51f1b9ccf8.pdf [cited 10 August 2020]. Available from:

Publication types

MeSH terms