# Newborn Hospitalizations Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland: A Comparative Study Based on a National Hospital Registry

## TL;DR

This study compares hospitalization rates of newborns in Poland before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, showing increased hospitalizations and specific health impacts.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into how the pandemic affected newborn hospitalization patterns in Poland using national hospital data.

## Key findings

- Newborn hospitalization rates increased from 50.3–51.9 per 1,000 in 2017–2019 to 77.7 per 1,000 in 2021.
- There was a significant rise in hospitalizations related to maternal complications and gestational diabetes during the pandemic.
- The prevalence of COVID-19 among hospitalized newborns was 4.5 cases per 1,000.

## Abstract

Objectives: There are limited data on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in Poland on newborn health. The aim of the study is to show recent information on hospitalizations of newborns in Poland in the pre-pandemic and COVID-19 pandemic era.

Methods: A retrospective, population-based study was conducted using data from hospital discharge records of patients hospitalized in 2017–2021.

Results: The data on which the study was based consisted of a substantial number of 104,450 hospitalization records. Annual hospitalization rate was estimated to be 50.3–51.9 per 1,000 in 2017–2019, 56 per 1,000 in 2020 and it rose to 77.7 per 1,000 in 2021. In comparison to the pre-pandemic period, in the COVID-19 era, we observed significantly more hospitalization cases of newborns affected by maternal renal and urinary tract diseases (p < 0.001), syndrome of infant of mother with gestational diabetes (p < 0.001), maternal complications of pregnancy (p < 0.001). In the COVID-19 era, the prevalence of COVID-19 among newborns was 4.5 cases per 1,000 newborn hospitalizations.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak could significantly contribute to qualitative and quantitative changes in hospitalizations among newborns.