Australia saw a drop in preterm births during COVID-19 lockdowns

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-04-30 19:00

Australia; International

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Australia had fewer preterm births during COVID-19 lockdowns than before the pandemic, according to international researchers, who say this was the case for high-income countries in Europe but not elsewhere. The researchers compiled studies from high-income countries around the world looking at adverse birth and pregnancy outcomes during COVID-19 lockdowns, when access to prenatal care was disrupted. Preterm birth was the only adverse outcome that saw a clear change during lockdowns, the researchers say, with more research needed to determine why lockdowns appear to have reduced preterm births in some countries but not others.

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Journal/
conference: Nature Human Behaviour

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Queen Mary University London, UK

Funder: We thank the funder of this project, the National Institute of Health Research: School of Primary Care Research (grant number SPCR C007) and Tommy’s National Preterm Birth Research Centre.

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