Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 2, 2025

Modeling Encephalopathy of Prematurity Using Prenatal Hypoxia-ischemia with Intra-amniotic Lipopolysaccharide in Rats
Published on: November 20, 2015
Social distancing and extremely preterm births in the initial COVID-19 pandemic period
Vivek V Shukla1, Benjamin A Carper2, Namasivayam Ambalavanan3
1Division of Neonatology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA. vshukla@uabmc.edu.
Hypothesis:
Increased social distancing was associated with a lower incidence of extremely preterm live births (EPLB) during the initial COVID-19 pandemic period.
Study Design:
Prospective study at the NICHD Neonatal Research Network sites comparing EPLB (220/7-286/7 weeks) and extremely preterm intrapartum stillbirths (EPIS) rates during the pandemic period (March-July, weeks 9-30 of 2020) with the reference period (same weeks in 2018 and 2019), correlating with state-specific social distancing index (SDI).
Results:
EPLB and EPIS percentages did not significantly decrease (1.58-1.45%, p = 0.07, and 0.08-0.06%, p = 0.14, respectively). SDI was not significantly correlated with percent change of EPLB (CC = 0.29, 95% CI = -0.12, 0.71) or EPIS (CC = -0.23, 95% CI = -0.65, 0.18). Percent change in mean gestational age was positively correlated with SDI (CC = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.07, 0.91).
Conclusions:
Increased social distancing was not associated with change in incidence of EPLB but was associated with a higher gestational age of extremely preterm births.
Gov Id:
Generic Database: NCT00063063.
Related Concept Videos
Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...

