TY - JOUR

T1 - Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on births and induced abortions in Southern Sweden

T2 - a register-based study

AU - Thacher, Jesse D

AU - Vilhelmsson, Andreas

AU - Blomberg, Annelise J

AU - Rylander, Lars

AU - Jöud, Anna

AU - Schmidt, Lone

AU - Hougaard, Charlotte Ørsted

AU - Elmerstig, Eva

AU - Vassard, Ditte

AU - Mattsson, Kristina

N1 - © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - 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 Skåne, Sweden.METHODS: Using the Skåne 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.

AB - 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 Skåne, Sweden.METHODS: Using the Skåne 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.

U2 - 10.1136/bmjsrh-2023-202162

DO - 10.1136/bmjsrh-2023-202162

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38834283

JO - BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health

JF - BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health

SN - 2515-1991

ER -