Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic brought about many social, psychological, and economic changes. We sought to compare pregnancy and birth outcomes immediately preceding the COVID-19 lockdown to those 12 months later.
Study design: This was a retrospective cohort study of people giving birth at a large-volume tertiary medical center in Rhode Island. We compared those who gave birth in February 2020 to those in February 2021. Results: Fewer people delivered in 2021 than 2020 (562 vs. 655). There was a non-significant decrease in the number of primary cesarean deliveries from 2020 to 2021. Insurance status modified this effect as there was a significant decrease in the number of patients with private insurance undergoing primary cesarean (63.6 vs 36.4%, p=0.004). Neonatal complications significantly decreased (55.4% vs 47.4%, p=0.006).
Conclusion: There were differences in sociodemographic characteristics and outcomes of birthing people between 2020 and 2021. The socioeconomic and healthcare landscape caused by COVID-19 altered statewide birthing patterns.
Keywords: COVID-19; adverse perinatal outcomes; coronavirus; maternal; neonatal.