Inductions plunged in early pandemic years — report

New research has found some positives for pregnant women during the pandemic, despite tough restrictions.

Tough safety restrictions on pregnant women during the first two years of the pandemic did not increase the stillbirth rate or maternal deaths, and had a positive result in the number of inductions, underweight babies, preterm babies and newborns needing intensive care, a new report reveals.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare research, released on Wednesday, shows that in 2020-21 combined there were 2390 fewer babies born at a low birthweight, 4260 fewer babies needed special care nursery or neonatal intensive care unit, 1050 more women birthed at home, 2330 fewer babies were born preterm and 15,380 more women birthed without labour being induced.

The surprise numbers have sparked a call from maternity advocates for governments to investigate if labour interventions and inductions are too high in normal circumstances.

Maternity Consumer Network spokeswoman Alecia Staines said: “This was a time when women were not able to go to hospital appointments, they didn’t want to stay in hospital for long for fear of getting Covid, and many had home births and still we are seeing some positive results.

“Of course this is great to see, but maternity services should be looking at why these numbers are higher outside of a pandemic and if it is evident it is due to overusing intervention such as induction of labour, the government should be looking at ways to de-incentivise this as it is costing tax payers money while not improving the health of women or their babies.”

The report highlighted that in the early stages of the pandemic, pregnant women experienced high levels of distress, which negatively impacted the mental health of mothers and led to pregnant women experiencing heightened depression, anxiety and stress.

Along with the stresses of catching Covid-19, 880 more women experiencing high blood pressure during pregnancy.

In the first two years of the pandemic 4670 fewer first-time mothers attended the recommended 10 or more antenatal visits.

Institute spokeswoman Deanna Eldridge said: “In terms of the characteristics and risk factors of birthing mothers, such as age and weight, there didn’t appear to be a change in these years.

“There was also no clear change in the stillbirth rate, which fluctuated between 6.7 and 7.7 per 1000 births during the period of 2015 to 2021 and data from the National Maternal Mortality Data Collection suggest that there were no maternal deaths directly related to Covid infection in 2020 or 2021.”

A Queensland Health spokesman said: “The report shows many positive trends in childbirth, with fewer premature births, more deliveries without induced labour, and healthier babies.

“While inductions are becoming more common across Australia, Queensland has the second-lowest induction rate and is below the national average.

“There are many reasons for induction, related to both mum and baby’s health, including maternal or baby medical conditions and post-term pregnancy.”