Covid 19 coronavirus: Rise in pregnant women dying and stillbirths blamed on the pandemic

Stillbirths and maternal deaths increased around the world since the pandemic began. Photo / Getty Images

An analysis of 40 studies from 17 different countries shows a rise in pregnancy deaths and stillbirths during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The analysis, published this week in the journal Lancet Global Health, concluded that more pregnant women experienced complications in pregnancy, some leading to death, or delivered stillborns since the start of the pandemic, compared to previous years.

Researchers from Turkey and the UK wanted to look into the collateral damage from the pandemic on pregnancy and births and reviewed data from more than six million pregnancies.

The researchers found evidence that the disruptions to healthcare systems around the world were a contributing factor to this rise in pregnancy deaths and stillborns, combined with patients' fears of getting infected at clinics, which could have led them to avoid seeking medical help.

The risk was higher in low and middle-income countries.

A pregnant woman ungergoes fetal monitoring at the neonatal unit of Moscow's Infectious Diseases Hospital No 2 which provides treatment to Covid-19 patients. Photo / Getty Images

The analysis shows that chances of a stillbirth increased by 28 per cent in the pandemic.

In Mexico and India, the risk of women dying while pregnant or during childbirth grew by more than a third.

Postpartum depression and anxiety also increased during the last year.

The number of women needing surgery for ectopic pregnancies grew six-fold, likely a result of delays in healthcare.

The analysis found there was no sharp increase in conditions such as gestational diabetes or rates.

Premature birth numbers did not change significantly in low and middle-income countries but fell by nearly 10 per cent in high-income ones.

The researchers concluded from the figures that the pandemic exacerbated the disparities between richer and poorer countries when it came to pregnancies and births.

"Global maternal and fetal outcomes have worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic, with an increase in maternal deaths, stillbirth, ruptured ectopic pregnancies, and maternal depression," the researchers wrote.

"Some outcomes show considerable disparity between high-resource and low-resource settings. There is an urgent need to prioritise safe, accessible, and equitable maternity care within the strategic response to this pandemic and in future health crises."