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. 2024 May 31;19(5):e0301081.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301081. eCollection 2024.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal care and outcomes: A retrospective study in a tertiary hospital in Northern Ghana

Alhassan Abdul-Mumin  1   2 , Kingsley Appiah Bimpong  1 , Cesia Cotache-Condor  3   4   5 , Jonathan Oppong  6 , Ana Maria Simono Charadan  6   7 , Adam Munkaila  6   7 , Joao Vitor Perez de Souza  8 , Emily R Smith  3   4   5   8
Affiliations

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal care and outcomes: A retrospective study in a tertiary hospital in Northern Ghana

Alhassan Abdul-Mumin et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Perinatal mortality remains a global challenge. This challenge may be worsened by the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child health.

Objectives: Examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal care and outcomes in the Tamale Teaching Hospital in northern Ghana.

Methods: A hospital-based retrospective study was conducted in the Tamale Teaching Hospital. We compared antenatal care attendance, total deliveries, cesarean sections, and perinatal mortality before the COVID-19 pandemic (March 1, 2019 to February 28, 2020) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021). Interrupted time series analyses was performed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal care and outcomes at TTH.

Results: A total number of 35,350 antenatal visits and 16,786 deliveries were registered at TTH from March 2019 to February 2021. Antenatal care, early neonatal death, and emergency cesarean section showed a rapid decline after the onset of the pandemic, with a progressive recovery over the following months. The total number of deliveries and fresh stillbirths showed a step change with a marked decrease during the pandemic, while the macerated stillbirths showed a pulse change, a temporary marked decrease with a quick recovery over time.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on perinatal care and outcomes in our facility. Pregnancy monitoring through antenatal care should be encouraged and continued even as countries tackle the pandemic.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Interrupted time-series analyses of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antenatal attendance (March 2019 –February 2021) at Tamale Teaching Hospital in Northern Ghana.
Note: Observed antenatal attendance (solid lines) was plotted against the counterfactual monthly number of antenatal attendances predicted by the ARIMA model (grey dashed line) if the COVID-19 pandemic had not occurred. The grey shading depicts 95% prediction intervals. The numbers next to ARIMA in parentheses indicate which components have been included to generate the counterfactual (p,d,q). The square brackets indicate that the model is generated using monthly data (12 months in a year). ARIMA = autoregressive integrated moving average.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Interrupted time-series analyses of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the total number of deliveries (March 2019 –February 2021) at Tamale Teaching Hospital in Northern Ghana.
Note: Observed total delivery (solid lines) was plotted against the counterfactual monthly number of total deliveries predicted by the ARIMA model (grey dashed line) if the COVID-19 pandemic had not occurred. The grey shading depicts 95% prediction intervals. The numbers next to ARIMA in parentheses indicate which components have been included to generate the counterfactual (p,d,q). The square brackets indicate that the model is generated using monthly data (12 months in a year). ARIMA = autoregressive integrated moving average.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Interrupted time-series analyses of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cesarean sections (March 2019 –February 2021) at Tamale Teaching Hospital in Northern Ghana.
Note: Observed cesarean sections (solid lines) were plotted against the counterfactual monthly percentage of cesarean sections from total deliveries predicted by the ARIMA models (grey dashed line) if the COVID-19 pandemic had not occurred. The grey shading depicts 95% prediction intervals. The numbers next to ARIMA in parentheses indicate which components have been included to generate the counterfactual (p,d,q). The square brackets indicate that the model is generated using monthly data (12 months in a year). ARIMA = autoregressive integrated moving average.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Interrupted time-series analyses of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal death (March 2019 –February 2021) at Tamale Teaching Hospital in Northern Ghana.
Note: Observed perinatal deaths (solid lines) were plotted against the counterfactual monthly percentage of perinatal deaths from total deliveries predicted by the ARIMA models (grey dashed line) if the COVID-19 pandemic had not occurred. The grey shading depicts 95% prediction intervals. The numbers next to ARIMA in parentheses indicate which components have been included to generate the counterfactual (p,d,q). The square brackets indicate that the model is generated using monthly data (12 months in a year). ARIMA = autoregressive integrated moving average.
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Grants and funding

The author received no specific funding for this work.