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Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on births and induced abortions in Southern Sweden: a register-based study
Lund Univ, Dept Lab Med, Div Occupat & Environm Med, Lund, Sweden; Lund Univ, Dept Lab Med, S-22100 Lund, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4908-9715
Lund Univ, Dept Lab Med, Div Occupat & Environm Med, Lund, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6635-8182
Lund Univ, Dept Lab Med, Div Occupat & Environm Med, Lund, Sweden.
Lund Univ, Dept Lab Med, Div Occupat & Environm Med, Lund, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8288-8207
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2025 (English)In: BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, ISSN 2515-1991, E-ISSN 2515-2009, Vol. 51, no 1, p. 9-17Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Background Pandemics are linked with declining birth rates, but little is known about how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced childbearing decisions. We aimed to investigate the associations between the COVID-19 pandemic and reproductive decisions, specifically to identify potential changes in the frequency of deliveries and induced abortions in Sk & aring;ne, Sweden.Methods Using the Sk & aring;ne Healthcare Register, we identified women aged 15-45 years who had at least one pregnancy-related care visit registered between 1 January 2013 and 11 November 11 2021. Deliveries and induced abortions were identified, and changes in weekly delivery and abortion counts were assessed using an interrupted time series design. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated from a Poisson regression model.Results During the study period we identified 129 131 deliveries and 38 591 abortions. Compared with the counterfactual (exposed interval assuming COVID-19 had not occurred), pandemic exposure was associated with fewer deliveries (RR 0.93; 95% CI 0.89 to 0.98). For abortions, pandemic exposure appeared to be associated with fewer abortions (RR 0.95; 95% CI 0.90 to 1.00); however, age-related differences were found. Among women aged 25 years and over, pandemic exposure was more strongly associated with fewer abortions. Contrastingly, among women aged under 25 years, abortions appeared to increase.Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic seemed to have contributed to a decline in births in Southern Sweden. During the same period, abortions declined in women in the older age range, but contrastingly increased among younger women.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, 2025. Vol. 51, no 1, p. 9-17
Keywords [en]
COVID-19, abortion, induced, epidemiology, Reproductive Behavior
National Category
Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-69961DOI: 10.1136/bmjsrh-2023-202162ISI: 001238809000001PubMedID: 38834283Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85195867369OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-69961DiVA, id: diva2:1886129
Available from: 2024-07-30 Created: 2024-07-30 Last updated: 2025-02-20Bibliographically approved

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Elmerstig, Eva

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Thacher, Jesse D.Vilhelmsson, AndreasRylander, LarsElmerstig, Eva
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