TABLE 2.
Pregnancy and birth characteristics of the included VeCaS‐population of pregnant women in the prepandemic (2019, n = 2963) and COVID‐19 pandemic period (2020, n = 2950), total n = 5913
| 2019 | 2020 | Statistical differences between 2019–2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Primiparous | Multiparous | Total | Primiparous | Multiparous | Total | Primiparous | Multiparous | |
| n = 2963 | n = 1317 | n = 1646 | n = 2950 | n = 1319 | n = 1631 | ||||
| 100% | 44% | 56% | 100% | 45% | 55% | ||||
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | P‐value * | P‐value * | P‐value * | |
| Pregnancy complications | |||||||||
| High blood pressure | 361 (12.2) | 227 (17.2) | 134 (8.1) | 365 (12.4) | 208 (15.8) | 157 (9.6) | 0.825 | 0.310 | 0.135 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 115 (3.6) | 378 (2.9) | 77 (4.7) | 119 (4.0) | 46 (3.5) | 73 (4.5) | 0.763 | 0.379 | 0.782 |
| Suspected fetal growth restriction | 111 (3.7) | 62 (4.7) | 49 (3.0) | 133 (4.5) | 62 (4.7) | 71 (4.4) | 0.141 | 0.993 | 0.036 |
| Placenta previa | 19 (0.6) | 7 (0.5) | 12 (0.7) | 24 (0.8) | 11 (0.8 | 13 (0.8) | 0.436 | 0.346 | 0.823 |
| Level of care at start delivery | |||||||||
| Primary care | 1685 (56.9) | 719 (54.6) | 966 (58.7) | 1678 (56.9) | 726 (55.0) | 952 (58.4) | 0.992 | 0.817 | 0.853 |
| Secondary care | 1278 (43.1) | 598 (45.4) | 680 (41.3) | 1272 (43.1) | 593 (45.0) | 679 (41.6) | |||
| Onset of labor | |||||||||
| Spontaneous | 2191 (75.0) | 967 (74.9) | 1224 (75.1) | 2092 (72.4) | 936 (73.1) | 1156 (71.8) | 0.068 | 0.513 | 0.103 |
| Induction of labor a | 561 (19.2) | 270 (20.9) | 291 (17.9) | 620 (21.4) | 292 (22.8) | 328 (20.4) | |||
| Planned cesarean section | 168 (5.8) | 54 (4.2) | 114 (7.0) | 178 (6.2) | 53 (4.1) | 125 (7.8) | |||
| Missing | 43 | 26 | 17 | 60 | 38 | 22 | |||
| Augmentation of labor | |||||||||
| No | 2546 (87.2) | 1060 (82.0) | 1486 (91.3) | 2523 (86.9) | 1037 (80.1) | 1486 (92.3) | 0.698 | 0.202 | 0.290 |
| Yes | 374 (12.8) | 232 (18.0) | 142 (8.7) | 382 (13.1) | 258 (19.9) | 124 (7.7) | |||
| Missing | 43 | 25 | 18 | 45 | 24 | 21 | |||
| Pain medication b | |||||||||
| None | 2064 (76.2) | 799 (65.4) | 1265 (85.1) | 2025 (73.6) | 768 (61.1) | 1257 (84.0) | 0.025 | 0.015 | 0.703 |
| Epidural | 408 (15.1) | 294 (24.1) | 114 (7.7) | 466 (16.9) | 354 (28.2) | 112 (7.5) | |||
| Remifentanil | 190 (7.0) | 96 (7.9) | 94 (6.3) | 231 (8.4) | 117 (09.3) | 114 (7.6) | |||
| Pethidine | 37 (1.4) | 26 (2.1) | 11 (0.7) | 23 (0.8) | 13 (1.0) | 10 (0.7) | |||
| Gas and air | 9 (0.3) | 7 (0.5) | 2 (0.1) | 8 (0.3) | 5 (0.4) | 3 (0.2) | |||
| Missing | 87 | 41 | 46 | 19 | 9 | 10 | |||
| Preferred place of birth | |||||||||
| Home birth | 641 (22.8) | 253 (20.2) | 388 (24.9) | 718 (26.0) | 304 (24.8) | 414 (27.1) | 0.017 | 0.044 | 0.340 |
| Midwife‐led hospital birth | 1737 (61.7) | 915 (73.1) | 822 (52.7) | 1549 (57.8) | 836 (68.1) | 758 (49.5) | |||
| Obstetric unit | 369 (13.1) | 53 (4.2) | 316 (20.2) | 374 (13.6) | 55 (4.5) | 319 (20.8) | |||
| Not decided | 66 (2.3) | 31 (2.5) | 35 (2.2) | 72 (2.6) | 33 (2.7) | 39 (2.5) | |||
| Missing | 150 | 65 | 85 | 192 | 91 | 101 | |||
| Actual place of birth | |||||||||
| Home birth | 580 (20.1) | 151 (11.9) | 429 (26.5) | 684 (23.8) | 188 (14.8) | 496 (31.0) | <0.001 | 0.076 | <0.001 |
| Midwife‐led hospital birth | 543 (18.8) | 165 (13.0) | 378 (23.4) | 417 (14.5) | 149 (11.7) | 268 (16.7) | |||
| Obstetric unit | 1768 (61.2) | 957 (75.2) | 811 (50.1) | 1770 (61.7) | 933 (73.5) | 837 (52.3) | |||
| Missing | 72 | 44 | 28 | 79 | 49 | 30 | |||
| Mode of birth | |||||||||
| Spontaneous vaginal birth | 2320 (80.1) | 903 (71.0) | 1417 (87.3) | 2325 (81.1) | 920 (72.6) | 1405 (87.8) | 0.385 | 0.626 | 0.279 |
| Assisted vaginal birth c | 212 (7.3) | 185 (14.6) | 27 (1.7) | 180 (6.3) | 162 (12.8) | 18 (1.1) | |||
| Planned cesarean section | 168 (5.8) | 54 (4.2) | 114 (7.0) | 178 (6.2) | 53 (4.2) | 125 (7.8) | |||
| Emergency cesarean section | 195 (6.7) | 129 (10.1) | 66 (4.1) | 185 (6.5) | 133 (10.5) | 52 (3.3) | |||
| Missing | 68 | 46 | 22 | 82 | 51 | 31 | |||
a
Induction of labor comprises the following: amniotomy, oxytocin, pharmacological priming (misoprostol or PgE2), and mechanical priming with balloon catheter.
b
Pain medication during first stage of labor, calculated for vaginal births and emergency cesarean sections. Planned cesarean sections excluded.
c
Mode of birth: Assisted vaginal birth includes a vacuum or forceps extraction.
*
Values in bold indicate statistically significant results.