‘Unprecedented’ effect of COVID-19 on pregnancies

THERE’S been a surprising but positive side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic locally.

ON TIME: New mum for the second time Monika Kummerow of Formartin (near Bowenville) with baby Nathan Kummerow who was delivered by Dr Anthony Cerqui on Friday, July 31.

THERE'S been a surprising but positive side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic with a dramatic drop in the number of babies born prematurely locally.

St Vincent's Private Hospital Toowoomba has reported a 40 per cent decrease in the number of premature births compared with the same period last year.

A premature birth is a birth that takes place more than three weeks before the baby's estimated due date.

Toowoomba obstetrician Dr Anthony Cerqui said it was "early days" in collecting data and

analysing the trend, but anecdotally the decrease had been "noteworthy".

"If you look at the burden of things like cerebral palsy, birth asphyxia and things like that actually arise in the premature group, to have that reduction is significant," Dr Cerqui said.

When asked why there had been a dramatic reduction, Dr Cerqui said getting an absolute answer was the "holy grail", but gave some theories.

"Some of the things that we would consider significant are firstly a reduction in the level of physical activity - people are staying at home more and not going out exerting themselves," he said.

Dr Anthony Cerqui, St Vincent's Private Hospital Toowoomba.

"Even though some are stressed about COVID, you develop a level of acceptance. People are

staying home from work and not having those work stresses as much.

"Further contributing factors may be the reduction in influenza infections, changes in general

hygiene, and reductions in air pollution."

Dr Cerqui has practised as an obstetrician and gynaecologist at St Vincent's Toowoomba for 20 years and delivered more than 10,000 babies, and the low rate of premature births over the past six months is "unprecedented".

He noted that some patients who had previously needed more help to fall pregnant, either through IVF or less invasive fertility treatments, had experienced greater success conceiving in the past six months, for uncertain reasons.

Dr Cerqui said the hospital would continue to collect data on preterm births and potentially be part of a multi-centre group to further investigate the trends and possible causes and effects.

The local experience mirrors a drop in premature births elsewhere in the world.

Researchers in Ireland and Denmark have looked at the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on rates of preterm birth.

The studies, neither of which have yet been published in peer-reviewed journals, both showed large falls in the numbers of babies born prematurely.

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