Clean air, less stress: At the beginning of the corona pandemic, it was believed that the number of premature births had fallen during the shutdown. A new analysis from Switzerland contradicts this.
“Around the world” the number of premature births is falling, it was reported in the first Corona year.
The number of premature births fell during the shutdown, it was said at the beginning of the pandemic. Many possible reasons were given: clean air, slowing down of the pregnant woman. But new numbers say otherwise.
For the “Blick” it was good news from the first year of Corona – one of the few: “Healthier babies” have been around since the outbreak of the pandemic, the newspaper wrote at the end of December 2020. Because the number of premature births fell during the lockdown.
Many newspapers reported on the phenomenon. “Around the world” the number of premature births is falling, was read in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. There was also speculation about explanations for the “riddle of premature babies”: the conscientious hygiene of the mothers was cited, the clean air, the deceleration that was imposed on pregnant women in lockdown.
Numbers from Switzerland now paint a different picture. Or: none at all. The phenomenon that was talked about a lot in affected circles: It wasn’t one at all, at least not in Switzerland. This is the result of a comprehensive study of births in the first nine months of the pandemic.
In Ireland or Denmark, the numbers collapsed
At the origin of the media reports at that time were studies from Ireland, Denmark and other countries. Doctors there had observed large falls in premature births, which were associated with the shutdowns.
In Ireland, researchers reported a 73 percent reduction in very early births. In Denmark, 90 percent fewer extremely premature babies were reported. The major burglaries also aroused interest in Swiss neonatology, as epidemiologist Mark Adams, who coordinates the medical newborn registry Swiss Neo Net, explains.
“We started looking for clues early on,” says Adams. “But it was clear to Switzerland early on: If there is an effect, it is very small.”
Under Adam’s direction, a team of experts has now evaluated the births from March to December 2020. The results were published in May in the “Swiss Medical Weekly”. They confirm the early observations in the clinics: “For Switzerland, we could not confirm any reduction in premature births that can be associated with Covid-19,” says Adams.
Adams has no final explanation for the difference to studies from other countries. “One possibility is that these are statistical phenomena.” The more data you collect and analyze, the more likely you are to find a phenomenon. This can lead to a distorted perception.
“Then there is also the question of the quality of the analyzed data. We are now late with our publication. In return, we have the certainty that our data is complete.”
Rather more premature births than fewer?
The bottom line is that Corona is likely to be responsible for more premature births in Switzerland – not for fewer, as initially thought. It is assumed that an infection before or during pregnancy favors premature births. Studies have provided evidence that the virus affects the blood supply to the placenta.
It has already been statistically proven today that an extraordinary number of children were born in the first year of Corona: 4.1 percent more than in 2019. And as many as last time in 1972. This is evident from the provisional figures on population development published by the Federal Office for statistics published in April.
The Federal Statistical Office did not want to speak of a baby boom. However, the data would show that more children were conceived during shutdown periods.