Research in Focus: Evaluating the global impact of COVID-19 on child health and births

Talk 1 - Studying Perinatal Health Internationally during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The iPOP Study.
Talk 2- Repercussions of social isolation due to Covid19 on Neonatal ICU child patients.

In 2018 at least 5.3 million children under 5 years died globally of preventable conditions which include. While gains have been made over the years to improve access to New-born and Child health services in low-and- middle income countries, some gaps still exist.

Several months ago, the world experienced a new respiratory infection caused by SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19). The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged people’s health and well-being in both developing and developed countries. Global assessments of health systems have shown that there are challenges to provide essential health services and reduced demand for and access to health services. Disruptions in essential health services and modification of health seeking behaviours is likely to substantially modify child morbidities and mortalities trends, particularly in low-middle income settings. Unprecedented reductions in preterm birth rates (up to 90% in Denmark) and very low birth weight (70% in Ireland) have been reported during lockdowns in some countries while in others like Nepal show an opposite trend, and increases in stillbirth.

It is therefore imperative that the global community assesses the impact of COVID-19 on new born and child health using high quality data, and to understand the underlying cause(s) to ensure that the hard-won gains from many years of investments are not eroded in the short term.