Preterm singleton birth rate during the COVID-19 lockdown: A population based study

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¹Neonatology, Sheba Medical Center
²Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer
³Neonatology, Shaare Zedek Medical Center
⁴MOH, Sheba Medical Center

Objective - To evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic national lockdown period on the rate of singleton preterm births in Israel.

Study Design - Population based cohort study of 341 291 singleton infants born in the months of January to July 2017-2020. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the influence of period and year on the rates of preterm births during the lockdown period (11th March - 5th May 2020) compared to rates before and after the lockdown and to the corresponding periods in 2017-2019.

Results – During the lockdown period the preterm birth rate decreased to 4.56% compared to 5.05% in the pre-lockdown period (p=0.006), an adjusted decrease of -0.52% (95% confidence interval -0.89%; -0.15%), odds ratio 0.898 (95% confidence interval 0.832; 0.970).

Conclusion – The rate of singleton preterm births declined by approximately 10% during the COVID-19 pandemic national lockdown period in Israel.