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Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on abortions and births in Sweden: a mixed-methods study.

AbstractINTRODUCTION:
Although considered an essential service by the WHO, there are indications that access to induced abortion care has been restricted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
OBJECTIVES:
To investigate if the number of induced abortions and ongoing pregnancies changed during the first pandemic wave of COVID-19 in 2020 compared with recent years prior to the pandemic and explore possible reasons for the findings.
DESIGN:
Convergent parallel mixed-methods design. Collection of quantitative data from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare and the Swedish Pregnancy Register, and qualitative data from interviews.
SETTING AND TIME PERIOD:
National data on abortions (January 2018-June 2020) and births (January 2018-March 2021). Interviews performed at the main abortion clinic, Gothenburg, Sweden, in June 2020.
PARTICIPANTS:
All women aged 15-44 years living in Sweden 2018-2020, approximately 1.9 million. 15 women who sought abortion were interviewed.
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES:
Number of abortions and births/1000 women aged 15-44 years. Themes and subthemes identified from interviews.
RESULTS:
The number of abortions and ongoing pregnancies did not change significantly during the study period compared with before the pandemic started. Interview themes identified were the following: meeting with abortion care during the COVID-19 pandemic (availability, and fear of being infected and infecting others); and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the abortion decision (to catch COVID-19 during pregnancy, feelings of loneliness and isolation, and social aspects).
CONCLUSIONS:
This study shows that the number of abortions and ongoing pregnancies remained unchanged during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 in Sweden compared with before the start of the pandemic. Abortion-seeking women did not hesitate to proceed with the abortion. The women expressed a number of fears concerning both availability of care and their health, which could have been properly addressed by the authorities.
AuthorsJohanna Rydelius, Mina Edalat, Viola Nyman, Tagrid Jar-Allah, Ian Milsom, Helena Hognert
JournalBMJ open (BMJ Open) Vol. 12 Issue 2 Pg. e054076 (02 23 2022) ISSN: 2044-6055 [Electronic] England
PMID35197343 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
Copyright© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
Topics
  • Abortion, Induced
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • COVID-19
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Pandemics
  • Pregnancy
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Sweden (epidemiology)
  • Young Adult

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