Supplementary file 1_The impact of armed conflict exposure on preterm birth, stillbirth, and neonatal anthropometric measures: a systematic review and meta-analysis.docx

PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and SCOPUS were searched from inception to January 2026. Studies examining neonatal outcomes among populations exposed to armed conflict, compared with non-exposed or pre-war populations were included.

Meta-analyses were conducted using RevMan 5.4 software.</p>Results<p>Seven studies encompassing diverse conflict settings met the inclusion criteria. No significant associations were observed for preterm birth (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.61–1.05), stillbirth (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.93–1.05), or neonatal mortality (OR 1.07, 95% CI 0.73–1.56) after accounting for heterogeneity. Conflict-exposed neonates had higher birth weight (MD 1.56 kg, 95% CI 0.55–2.56) and head circumference (MD 0.60 cm, 95% CI 0.47–0.74).</p>Conclusion<p>The absence of adverse associations should not be interpreted as evidence of protection.