Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Queen Mary Hospital, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.
Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of Hong Kong, School of Clinical Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.
J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2023 Jun;49(6):1539-1544. doi: 10.1111/jog.15643. Epub 2023 Mar 29.
Controversies exist on whether the pandemic lockdown has resulted in a lower rate of preterm deliveries. A higher stillbirth rate was also reported. This retrospective observational study aimed to examine the rate of preterm delivery and stillbirth in a tertiary hospital in Hong Kong during COVID-19 pandemic.
Data from 8787 singleton pregnancies at Queen Mary Hospital between April 2018 to September 2021 were retrieved from the clinical management system and obstetric database. Rates of preterm delivery (<37 weeks), low birth weight infants (<2500 g), and stillbirth in the pre-pandemic (April 2018 to September 2019) and pandemic (April 2020 to September 2021) periods were compared.
Total numbers of singleton deliveries during the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods were 5064 and 3723, respectively. Background demographics were comparable, except 3 were higher rates of cesarean sections (30.7% vs. 25.8%; p < 0.05) and hypertensive disorders (1.4% vs. 0.7%; p < 0.05) in the pandemic cohort. Moreover, more women with a spontaneous onset of labor had a history of preterm delivery (3.5% vs. 2.4%; p < 0.05) during the pandemic. Rates of low birth weight infants (8.7% vs. 7.4%; p = 0.03) and spontaneous preterm deliveries (2.6% vs. 1.7%; p = 0.01), particularly spontaneous moderate-to-late preterm delivery (32-36 weeks) (1.9% vs. 1.2%; p = 0.01) were significantly higher during COVID-19. However, no statistical difference was found in stillbirth rates (0.2% vs. 0.4%; p = 0.17).
Rates of spontaneous preterm delivery and low birth weight babies increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This could be related to an increase in maternal stress, or a change in behavioral patterns for pregnant women.
关于大流行封锁是否导致早产率降低存在争议。也有报道称死胎率更高。本回顾性观察研究旨在检查香港一家三级医院在 COVID-19 大流行期间的早产和死产率。
从临床管理系统和产科数据库中检索了 2018 年 4 月至 2021 年 9 月在玛丽皇后医院的 8787 例单胎妊娠数据。比较了大流行前（2018 年 4 月至 2019 年 9 月）和大流行期间（2020 年 4 月至 2021 年 9 月）的早产（<37 周）、低出生体重儿（<2500 克）和死产率。
大流行前和大流行期间的单胎分娩总数分别为 5064 例和 3723 例。背景人口统计学特征相似，但大流行组剖宫产率（30.7%比 25.8%；p<0.05）和高血压疾病（1.4%比 0.7%；p<0.05）较高。此外，大流行期间有更多自发临产的妇女有早产史（3.5%比 2.4%；p<0.05）。低出生体重儿（8.7%比 7.4%；p=0.03）和自发性早产（2.6%比 1.7%；p=0.01），特别是自发性中晚期早产（32-36 周）（1.9%比 1.2%；p=0.01）的发生率在 COVID-19 期间显着升高。然而，死产率无统计学差异（0.2%比 0.4%；p=0.17）。
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，自发性早产和低体重儿的发生率显着增加。这可能与母亲压力增加或孕妇行为模式改变有关。
