During the corona pandemic earlier this year, many countries experienced lockdowns and restrictions in public life. Many gynaecologists and neonatologists observed remarkable findings during this time: the rate of preterm births, especially of very preterm births, dropped significantly. In Denmark, for instance, experts reported a 90 % decrease in preterm births, while in Ireland, births with children of very low birth weight decreased by more than 70 %.

© Unsplashed/ Chris Liverani

The University of Manitoba in Canada, along with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Australia, is now investigating the reasons for this decline. The aim of this “International Perinatal Outcomes in the Pandemic Study” (iPOP-Study) is to understand if this dramatic decline of preterm births is a global phenomenon and if stillbirths concurrently increased during this period. The team of the iPOP study believes that those extraordinary declines in preterm births could be due to a decrease in air pollution and fewer maternal infections during the lockdown. Whilst, this phenomenon could be observed in many countries, there were also exceptions. In Nepal, for example, far more preterm births were recorded during the pandemic than usual.  The iPOP study team wants to take advantage of the exceptional conditions created by the pandemic to investigate the underlying causes now.

Read more about the International Perinatal Outcomes in the Pandemic Study here: https://www.efcni.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/iPOP-pre-proposal-073120.pdf