Exposure to the early COVID‐19 pandemic and early, moderate and overall preterm births in the United States: A conception cohort approach

The objective was to determine—among cohorts exposed to the early COVID‐19 pandemic—whether observed counts of overall, early and moderately preterm birth fell outside the expected range. Gestations conceived in July, August or December of 2019—that are exposed to the early COVID‐19 pandemic in the first or third trimester—yielded approximately 3245 fewer moderately preterm and 3627 fewer overall preterm births than the expected values for moderate and overall preterm. Exposure to the early COVID‐19 pandemic may have promoted longer gestation among close‐to‐term pregnancies, reduced the risk of later preterm delivery among gestations exposed in the first trimester or induced selective loss of gestations.