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. 2023 Nov;308(5):1457-1462.
doi: 10.1007/s00404-022-06838-0. Epub 2022 Nov 9.

Lack of evidence for effects of lockdowns on stillbirth rates during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Bavaria: analysis of the Bavarian perinatal survey from 2010 to 2020

Florian Matthias Stumpfe  1 , Michael Oliver Schneider  2 , Sophia Antoniadis  2 , Andreas Mayr  3 , Tobias Fleckenstein  3 , Christian Staerk  3 , Sven Kehl  2 , Peter Hermanek  4 , Julian Böhm  4 , Anton Scharl  5 , Matthias Wilhelm Beckmann  2 , Alexander Hein  2
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Lack of evidence for effects of lockdowns on stillbirth rates during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Bavaria: analysis of the Bavarian perinatal survey from 2010 to 2020

Florian Matthias Stumpfe et al. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Internationally, potential effects of national SARS-CoV-2-related lockdowns on stillbirth rates have been reported, but data for Germany, including risk factors for fetal pregnancy outcome, are lacking. The aim of this study is to compare the stillbirth rates during the two first lockdown periods in 2020 with previous years from 2010 to 2019 in a large Bavarian cohort.

Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of the Bavarian perinatal data from 2010 to 2020, including 349,245 births. Univariate and multivariable regression analyses were performed to investigate the effect of two Bavarian lockdowns on the stillbirth rate in 2020 compared to the corresponding periods from 2010 to 2019.

Results: During the first lockdown, the stillbirth rate was significantly higher compared to the reference period (4.04 vs. 3.03 stillbirths per 1000 births; P = 0.03). After adjustment for seasonal and long-term trends, this effect can no longer be observed (P = 0.2). During the second lockdown, the stillbirth rate did not differ in univariate (3.46 vs. 2.93 stillbirths per 1000 births; P = 0.22) as well as in multivariable analyses (P = 0.68), compared to the years 2010 to 2019.

Conclusion: After adjustment for known long-term effects, in this study we did not find evidence that the two Bavarian lockdowns had an effect on the rate of stillbirths.

Keywords: COVID-19; Stillbirths; Stillborn.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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