Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Pandemic social distancing is linked to higher rates of preterm births and newborn deaths within one to two months, according to a new study.

(Alena Ozerova/Shutterstock)

In a study published Thursday in JAMA Network Open, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) evaluated over 18 million births in Alabama from 2016 to 2020, comparing prepandemic years to the period after officials enacted public health restrictions in March 2020.

The link was not immediately apparent. However, when researchers examined neonatal mortality and preterm rates two months after social distancing was implemented in the population, they found a link between the population’s social distancing behavior and neonatal mortality and preterm births. The neonatal period includes the first four weeks of a baby’s life.

The study evaluated the “unanticipated effects” of social distancing on infant health outcomes, senior study author Dr. Vivek Shukla, a neonatologist and assistant professor in the UAB Division of Neonatology, told The Epoch Times via email.

The clinician-researcher said that more research is needed to get a more nuanced understanding of these associations.

“This study shows that, on a population level, there might be delayed effects of health interventions,” he said. “Sometimes the effects of measures are not evident on the first day the measures are implemented.”

He added that the study only evaluated how social behavior might have related to health outcomes and did not examine how COVID-19 infections could affect a mother and her child.

Fewer Prenatal Visits

The authors said that their findings may be related to disrupted prenatal care and pregnancy complications.

They observed that during the pandemic, there were fewer prenatal visits and medical checkups during pregnancy, which may have been linked to social distancing behaviors in the population.

“These appointments are important to catch and address complications that could be life-threatening to both mom and baby,” co-author Dr. Rachel Sinkey, an associate professor in the UAB Division of Maternal–Fetal Medicine, said in a press release.

According to the American Medical Association, 81 percent of physicians surveyed in July and August 2020 reported providing fewer in-person visits than before the pandemic. The average number of in-person visits fell from 95 to 57 per week.

Additionally, disease rates, including gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, and induction of labor, as well as neonatal intensive-care unit (ICU) admission, were higher during the pandemic.

The study found that neonatal mortality rates were generally lower throughout the 2020 pandemic period, but there were slight increases in neonatal mortality and preterm births after the population became more adherent to social distancing practices.

“COVID-19 affected the health care systems globally, and many lives were lost; it is important to learn from this experience to prepare better for possible future health crises,” said Dr. Shukla.

“We need to understand how changes in health behavior affected outcomes, whether people had limited access to care or healthy habits were altered.”

Further Research Needed

Since the study is only observational, no causal conclusions can be drawn from its findings.

“The results indicate a need for more in-depth studies on the unintended effects of pandemic-related health behavior changes,” Dr. Shukla said.