A new study has found that during the pandemic there were fewer c-sections and induced births. The pandemic has been going on for more than two years now, and it has changed a lot about what we all know life to be. It had a large impact on those who were trying to conceive and those who were pregnant. It has also impacted women who gave birth, and they were facing environments that not many have ever experienced while trying to bring a new life into this world. Now that time has passed, researchers are starting to do studies to look at how the world of childbirth was changed during the pandemic.According to Medical Xpress, the first large-scale study on births during COVID-19 found that there was a “significant drop” in c-sections and induced deliveries. This study was done by Georgia Tech’s School of Economics, and it can be read in full here.What the researchers found was that premature births by c-section and induced deliveries fell by 6.5% at the beginning of the pandemic, but they remained low. The reason for this is being placed on the lack of prenatal visits due to the effort to slow the spread of the virus.This study is incredibly interesting because it has raised awareness of medical interventions, and caused some to question whether medical professionals should be doing c-sections or inductions that are leading to premature births.Daniel Dench, the lead author of the study, stated that these interventions may not be necessary and that is what this study has highlighted. However, they also stated that more work needs to be done to look at how these changes affected infant mortality rates, and how doctors assessed risk throughout the pandemic when they had fewer in-person visits.
The hope may be that conversations start to happen in the world of pregnancy and delivery, and this study could start some of them. The pandemic has given them the chance to look at this situation, which they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise because any studies on this would not be considered ethical. It was seen as a “forced” study, but it provided a lot of insights and a lot to think about.
Now, they want to look at how the level of doctor intervention impacts fetal health, and that is what is going to be able to answer a lot of the unanswered questions.
Sources: Medical Xpress, AAP