Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health

Original Articles

Impact of COVID-19 Control Measures on Birth Outcomes in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Tinh Ho Huu, Nguyen Do Phuc Nhu, Nhan Ho The, Hang Tran Thi Thuy, Chinh Dang Van; J Prev Med Public Health. 2025;58(6):620-628. Published online August 6, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.25.177

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Abstract Summary PDF Supplementary Material: Objectives
Studies of the associations between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) control measures and infant health in Vietnam are limited. This study investigated differences in birth outcomes between pregnancies during the COVID-19 pandemic and those before the pandemic.
Methods
Data on infants born alive between 2016 and 2023 in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) were collected. For each infant, the estimated first day of pregnancy was calculated based on birth date and gestational age. Linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify significant associations. The birth outcomes examined included decreased birth weight (BW), low birth weight (LBW), term LBW, and preterm birth (PTB). The models were adjusted for infant sex, birth order, gestational age, and maternal age. The COVID-19 pandemic period in HCMC was defined as April 2020 to December 2022.
Results
Among 172 017 infants, 31.4% had at least 1 trimester of gestation during the COVID-19 pandemic, 44.2% were first births, and 52.0% were male. Infants with full gestation during the pandemic had significantly lower BW (by 20.7 g) compared to those born pre-pandemic. Pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with higher rates of LBW, term LBW, and PTB compared to the pre-pandemic period. The odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 1.21 (1.15 to 1.27), 1.28 (1.18 to 1.39), and 1.10 (1.06 to 1.15), respectively.
Conclusions
The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with elevated risk of adverse birth outcomes. Lessons learned from the COVID-19 response should be applied to prepare for future outbreaks.; Summary

Key Message
This study examined birth outcomes among 172,017 infants in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, comparing pregnancies during the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020-December 2022) with pre-pandemic periods. Infants with full gestational exposure to the pandemic had significantly lower birth weights (by 20.7 g) and increased risks of low birth weight, term low birth weight, and preterm birth, with odds ratios ranging from 1.10 to 1.28. These findings suggest that COVID-19 control measures were associated with adverse birth outcomes, underscoring the importance of applying lessons learned for future outbreak preparedness.

Analysis of Differences in Preterm Birth Rates According to Household Occupation in Japan From 2007 to 2019: Tasuku Okui, Naoki Nakashima; J Prev Med Public Health. 2022;55(4):371-378. Published online June 20, 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.22.178

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6 Crossref

Objectives
No studies have examined the association between preterm birth rates and socioeconomic factors in Japan using nationwide statistical data. We analyzed the association between preterm birth rates and household occupation using Vital Statistics data.
Methods
Aggregated Vital Statistics data from Japan from 2007 to 2019 were obtained from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. From the data, the number of births according to year, age group, gestational period, number of pregnancies, and household occupation were used in this study. Crude preterm birth rates and preterm birth rates adjusted by maternal age according to household occupation were calculated for each year. Poisson regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between household occupation and preterm births.
Results
Unemployed households had the highest preterm birth rate, and households with an occupation classification of “full-time worker 2” (an employee at a large company, civil servant, or board member) had the lowest preterm birth rate throughout each period. Poisson regression analysis revealed that unemployed households were statistically significantly associated with a high preterm birth risk. In contrast, the preterm birth rate adjusted by maternal age remained stable throughout each period regardless of household occupation, and preterm birth rates were found not to have increased in recent years in Japan.
Conclusions
Unemployed households had higher preterm birth rates than other household occupations. Further studies investigating the characteristics of unemployed households are needed to identify the reasons for this disparity.

Summary

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Maternal occupation and risk of adverse fetal outcomes in Tanzania: A hospital-based cross-sectional study
Baldwina Tita Olirk, Aiwerasia Vera Ngowi, Furaha August, Ezra Jonathan Mrema, Jovine Bachwenkizi, Simon Henry Mamuya, Kahsu Gebrekidan
PLOS ONE.2025; 20(3): e0319653. CrossRef
Shotgun metagenomics of the vaginal microbiome in cervical shortening and preterm birth risk
Keun-Young Lee, Seung-Ho Shin, Goeun Park, Shin-Hae Kang, Hyun-Jung Kang, Jiye Kim, Jae Jun Lee, Ga-Hyun Son, Ji Young Hong
Scientific Reports.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Establishment and validation of clinical prediction models for preterm birth in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy: Single-center retrospective observational study
Min Wen, Wenfei Zheng, Mengmeng Yu
Medicine.2025; 104(52): e46848. CrossRef
Analysis of an Association between Preterm Birth and Parental Educational Level in Japan Using National Data
Tasuku Okui
Children.2023; 10(2): 342. CrossRef
Association of maternal nationality with preterm birth and low birth weight rates: analysis of nationwide data in Japan from 2016 to 2020
Tasuku Okui, Yoko Sato, Seiichi Morokuma, Naoki Nakashima
Maternal Health, Neonatology and Perinatology.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Does the father’s job matter? Parental occupation and preterm birth in Korea
Taemi Kim, Eunseon Gwak, Bolormaa Erdenetuya, Jeong-Won Oh, Jung-won Yoon, Myoung-Hee Kim, Jia Ryu, Seung-Ah Choe
Epidemiology and Health.2023; 45: e2023078. CrossRef

Adverse Birth Outcomes Among Pregnant Women With and Without COVID-19: A Comparative Study From Bangladesh: Sumaya Binte Masud, Faiza Zebeen, Dil Ware Alam, Mosharap Hossian, Sanjana Zaman, Rowshan Ara Begum, Mohammad Hayatun Nabi, Mohammad Delwer Hossain Hawlader; J Prev Med Public Health. 2021;54(6):422-430. Published online October 21, 2021; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.21.432

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280 Download
10 Web of Science
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Abstract PDF

Objectives
Pregnant women are especially vulnerable to respiratory infections such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but insufficient research has investigated pregnancy and its outcomes in women with COVID-19. This cross-sectional study compared birth outcomes related to COVID-19 between Bangladeshi pregnant women with and without COVID-19.
Methods
The study was conducted at 3 tertiary referral hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from March to August 2020. Pregnant women admitted for delivery at these hospitals with laboratory results (reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction) were analyzed. Using convenience sampling, we included 70 COVID-19-positive and 140 COVID-19-negative pregnant women. Trained and experienced midwives conducted the interviews. Data were analyzed using the t-test, the chi-square test, and univariate and multivariable linear and logistic regression.
Results
Pregnant women with COVID-19 were more likely to give birth to a preterm baby (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.15; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06 to 4.37) and undergo a cesarean section (aOR, 3.27; 95% CI, 1.51 to 7.07). There were no significant differences in birth weight, premature rupture of membranes, and the Apgar score at 1 minute or 5 minutes post-delivery between women with and without COVID-19. All the newborn babies who were born to COVID-19-positive women were COVID-19-negative.
Conclusions
Our study suggests that pregnant women with COVID-19 were more likely to give birth to a preterm baby and undergo a cesarean section. For this reason, physicians should be particularly cautious to minimize adverse birth outcomes among pregnant women with COVID-19 and their newborn babies.

Summary

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Preterm Birth and SARS-CoV-2: Does a Correlation Exist?
Federica Perelli, Annalisa Vidiri, Giovanna Palomba, Rita Franco, Vitalba Gallitelli, Marco Parasiliti, Marta Bisanti, Amelia Spanò, Adele Silvagni, Alessandra Lopez, Giuseppe Gullo, Gaspare Cucinella, Anna Franca Cavaliere
Biomedicines.2025; 13(2): 282. CrossRef
Neonatal outcomes among pregnant women with COVID-19: a systematic scoping review and meta-analysis
Yongqiu Li, Ying Lu, Huilin Tang, Eliot A. Spector, Xiaoxiao Wen, Kimberly Germinal, Alexandra Milfort, Yi Guo, Sarah Bost, Elizabeth Shenkman, Jiang Bian, Hui Hu, Jingchuan Guo
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
SARS-CoV-2 infection by trimester of pregnancy and adverse perinatal outcomes: a Mexican retrospective cohort study
Rakesh Ghosh, Juan Pablo Gutierrez, Iván de Jesús Ascencio-Montiel, Arturo Juárez-Flores, Stefano M Bertozzi
BMJ Open.2024; 14(4): e075928. CrossRef
The impact of COVID-19 infections on pregnancy outcomes in women
Ke Xu, Wen Sun, Shuangshuang Yang, Tianqi Liu, Ning Hou
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
COVID-19 vaccine decision-making among pregnant and lactating women in Bangladesh
Rupali J. Limaye, Prachi Singh, Alicia Paul, Berhaun Fesshaye, Clarice Lee, Eleonor Zavala, Sydney Wade, Hasmot Ali, Hafizur Rahman, Shirina Akter, Ruth Karron, Towfida Jahan Siddiqua
Vaccine.2023; 41(26): 3885. CrossRef
The coronavirus disease 2019 infection in pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Yeonsong Jeong, Min-A Kim
Obstetrics & Gynecology Science.2023; 66(4): 270. CrossRef
Sources of COVID-19 Vaccine Promotion for Pregnant and Lactating Women in Bangladesh
Berhaun Fesshaye, Sydney A. Wade, Clarice Lee, Prachi Singh, Eleonor Zavala, Hasmot Ali, Hafizur Rahman, Towfida Jahan Siddiqua, Shirina Atker, Ruth A. Karron, Rupali J. Limaye
Vaccines.2023; 11(8): 1387. CrossRef
Impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women and their babies: clinical and epidemiological features
María José Vidal, Èrica Martínez-Solanas, Sergi Mendoza, Núria Sala, Mireia Jané, Jacobo Mendioroz, Pilar Ciruela
Gaceta Sanitaria.2023; 37: 102332. CrossRef
An outbreak of infection due to severe acute respiratory corona virus-2 in a neonatal unit from a low and middle income setting
Firdose Lambey Nakwa, Reenu Thomas, Alison van Kwawegen, Nandi Ntuli, Karabo Seake, Samantha Jane Kesting, Noela Holo Bertha Kamanga, Dikeledi Maureen Kgwadi, Neema Chami, Tshiamo Mogajane, Claude Ondongo-Ezhet, Thulisile Nelly Maphosa, Stephanie Jones, V
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Prenatal Exposure to PM10 and Preterm Birth between 1998 and 2000 in Seoul, Korea.: Eun Hee Ha, Bo Eun Lee, Hye Sook Park, Yun Sang Kim, Ho Kim, Young Ju Kim, Yun Chul Hong, Eun Ae Park; J Prev Med Public Health. 2004;37(4):300-305. Published online November 30, 2004

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Abstract PDF: OBJECTIVES
The exposure to particulate air pollution during the pregnancy has reported to result in adverse pregnancy outcome such as low birth weight, preterm birth, still birth, and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). We aim to assess whether prenatal exposure of particulate matter less than 10 (m in diameter (PM10) is associated with preterm birth in Seoul, South Korea. METHODS: We included 382, 100 women who delivered a singleton at 25-42 weeks of gestation between 1998 and 2000. We calculated the average PM10 exposures for each trimester period and month of pregnancy, from the first to the ninth months, based on the birth date and gestational age. We used three different models to evaluate the effect of air pollution on preterm birth; the logistic regression model, the generalized additive logistic regression model, and the proportional hazard model. RESULTS: The monthly analysis using logistic regression model suggested that the risks of preterm birth increase with PM10 exposure between the sixth and ninth months of pregnancy and the highest risk was observed in the seventh month (adjusted odds ratio=1.07, 95% CI=1.01- 1.14). We also found the similar results using generalized additive model. In the proportional hazard model, the adjusted odds ratio for preterm births due to PM10 exposure of third trimester was 1.04 (95% CI=0.96-1.13) and PM10 exposure between the seventh month and ninth months of pregnancy was associated with the preterm births. CONCLUSIONS: We found that there were consistent results when we applied the three different models. These findings suggest that air pollution exposure during the third trimester pregnancy has an adverse effect on preterm birth in South Korea.; Summary

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