@article{article_1378815, title={VERY PRETERM BIRTH RATES AT A REFERRAL TERTIARY NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC}, journal={Ankara Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi Tıp Dergisi}, volume={58}, pages={76–80}, year={2025}, DOI={10.20492/aeahtd.1378815}, author={Çıplak, Gökçe and Tekeli, Nazlı and Ozden Tokalıoglu, Eda and Sahin, Dilek and Tayman, Cüneyt and Kanmaz Kutman, Hayriye Gözde}, keywords={COVID-19, preterm births, pandemic, pregnancy}, abstract={Aim: It is known that one of the important effects of viral diseases on pregnancy and fetus is preterm delivery. We aim to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the frequency of very preterm ( <32 weeks gestational age) infant admission at a referral tertiary neonatal intensive care unit in Turkey. Material and Method: Very preterm infant admission rates to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit from September 2019-February 2020 before the pandemic and the same period of the year after the pandemic (September 2020-February 2021) were retrospectively compared. Maternal/ neonatal characteristics and perinatal risk factors were collected from patient records. Results: A total of 1687 infants were admitted to the NICU during the 6 months before the pandemic, 266 (15.7%) of them were very preterm infants. The number of total admissions was 1648 and 230 (13.9%) of them were very preterm during the pandemic. About a 2% decrease in admission rates was not statistically significant. Mean gestational age (28± 2,7 and 29± 2.8 weeks), mean birth weight (1370± 531 and 1327± 517 g), and other basic maternal and neonatal characteristics were similar (p>0.01). Conclusion: Pandemic and its restrictions may have affected to outcomes of pregnancy by indirect mechanisms such as changes in daily activities, social and economic effects, benefiting of health services. Although the number of preterm admission between the two periods seems to have no difference considering a limited cohort and short-term evaluation, these results should be supported by national data.}, number={2}, publisher={Sağlık Bakanlığı Ankara Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi}