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Overwhelmed health systems and reduced access to care during the coronavirus pandemic have worsened the birth outcomes of pregnant women and newborns around the world, according to an analysis of dozens of studies.
Researchers at St. George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the UK published results in The Lancet Global Health on Wednesday, with results from 40 studies conducted from January 2020 to January 2021 on more than 6 million pregnancies and rates consequences such as complications and death. The team wrote reports using the Medline and Embase research databases.
The results indicated a “significant increase” in stillbirths and maternal deaths of about a third during the pandemic, although the overall rate of preterm births remained about the same compared to life before the pandemic. Specifically, the researchers cited a 28% increase in stillbirths, noting 1,099 stillbirths for 168,295 pregnancies during the pandemic, compared to pre-pandemic rates of 1,325 stillbirths for 198,993 pregnancies. Maternal deaths occurred at reported rates of 530 per 1,237,018 pregnancies during the pandemic, compared with 698 for 2,224,859 pre-pandemic pregnancies.
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The team also reported a decline in mothers’ mental health, such as increased depression and anxiety, and additional results indicated a six-fold increase in surgeries related to ectopic pregnancies (occurring outside the womb) , which suggests that women have delayed medical care.
“This finding suggests that the increase in the rate of adverse outcomes may be driven primarily by ineffective health care systems and their inability to cope with the pandemic, rather than the stringency of pandemic mitigation measures. The authors of the study wrote.
“It is clear from our study and others that the disruption caused by the pandemic has led to preventable deaths of mothers and babies, especially in low and middle income countries,” said Asma Khalil, senior author of the study and professor at St George’s University of London, in part in a statement. “We urge policymakers and health officials to prioritize safe, accessible and equitable maternity care as part of the strategic response to the pandemic and its consequences, in order to reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes in the world. world.
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The team noted limitations in the results, such as the lower number of studies conducted in low-income countries, which was “concerning” due to the considerable differences in results between these countries. For example, while high-income countries have experienced a noticeable decline in preterm births, this has not been the case in low-income countries.
Several other factors may have contributed to the worsening results, such as maternity staff reoriented to treat critical patients during the pandemic, and also an increase in “intimate partner violence,” the study authors suggested. .
“We can prioritize safe and accessible maternity care during the pandemic and its aftermath, while planning for a future of radically inclusive and equitable maternity care that will use the lessons of this pandemic to reduce premature births, stillbirths and maternal mortality worldwide ”. the study authors concluded.
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