OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine whether coronavirus-disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic exposure duration was associated with PTB and if the pandemic modified racial disparities.

STUDY DESIGN: We analyzed Philadelphia births and replicated in New Haven. Compared to matched months in two prior years, we analyzed overall PTB, specific PTB phenotypes, and stillbirth.

RESULTS: Overall, PTB was similar between periods with the following exceptions. Compared to pre-pandemic, early pregnancy (<14 weeks') pandemic exposure was associated with lower risk of PTB < 28 weeks' (aRR 0.60 [0.30-1.10]) and later exposure with higher risk (aRR 1.77 [0.78-3.97]) (interaction p = 0.04). PTB < 32 weeks' among White patients decreased during the pandemic, resulting in non-significant widening of the Black-White disparity from aRR 2.51 (95%CI: 1.53-4.16) to aRR 4.07 (95%CI: 1.56-12.01) (interaction P = 0.41). No findings replicated in New Haven.

CONCLUSION: We detected no overall pandemic effects on PTB, but potential indirect benefits for some patients which could widen disparities remains possible.

The early acute phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic created rapid adaptation in health care delivery. Using electronic medical record data from two different institutions located in two different states, we examined how telemedicine was integrated into obstetric care. With no telemedicine use prior, both institutions rapidly incorporated telemedicine into prenatal care (PNC). There were significant patient-level and institutional-level differences in telemedicine use. Telemedicine users initiated PNC earlier and had more total visits, earlier timing of ultrasounds, and earlier diabetes screening during pregnancy compared with nonusers. There were no significant differences in delivery mode or stillbirth associated with telemedicine use at either institution. Rapid adoption of obstetric telemedicine maintained adequate prenatal care provision during the early pandemic, but implementation varied across institutions.