{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T00:59:43Z","timestamp":1781657983110,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,25]],"date-time":"2021-06-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1624579200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n<jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Prior studies have demonstrated an increased stillbirth rate. It was suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted on attendances for reduced fetal movements. Thus, we sought to ascertain the impact of the pandemic on attendances for reduced fetal movements (RFM) in our unit, ultrasound provision for reduced fetal movements, and the stillbirth rate.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n<jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This was a single site retrospective cohort study involving all women complaining of a 1<jats:sup>st<\/jats:sup> episode of reduced fetal movements between 01\/03\/2020-30\/04\/2020 (COVID) to 01\/03\/2019-30\/04\/2019 (Pre-COVID). Data were retrieved from computerised hospital records and statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism and SPSS.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>22% (179\/810) of women presented with a 1<jats:sup>st<\/jats:sup> episode of reduced fetal movements Pre-COVID compared to 18% (145\/803) during COVID (p = 0.047). Primiparous women were significantly over-represented in this population with a 1.4-fold increase in attendances during COVID (67% vs 48%, p = 0.0005). Neither the total stillbirth rate nor the stillbirth rate amongst women who presented with reduced fetal movements changed during COVID. Ultrasound provision was not impacted by COVID with 95% of the scans performed according to local guidelines, compared to Pre-COVID (74%, p = 0.0001).<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n<jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>There is a significant decrease in 1<jats:sup>st<\/jats:sup> attendances for reduced fetal movements during COVID-19 pandemic. Primiparous women were 1.4 times more likely to attend with RFM. Women should be reassured that COVID-19 has not resulted in a decreased provision of care for RFM, and has not impacted on the stillbirth rate.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0253796","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,25]],"date-time":"2021-06-25T17:31:10Z","timestamp":1624642270000},"page":"e0253796","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Impact of Covid-19 on attendances for a 1st episode of reduced fetal movements: A retrospective observational study"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2127-3433","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Laia","family":"Marques-Fernandez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Swati","family":"Sharma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Una","family":"Mannu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hsu Phern","family":"Chong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0253796.ref001","unstructured":"Timeline of WHO\u2019s response to COVID-19 [Internet]. 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