ArticleBMJ open2022
Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on abortions and births in Sweden: a mixed-methods study.
Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trends in Hospital Abortion During the First 2 Years of COVID-19 in Quebec, Canada: Results From a Population-Based Observational Study.Perspectives on sexual and reproductive health · 2025Observational
- Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on births and induced abortions in Southern Sweden: a register-based study.BMJ sexual & reproductive health · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionAlthough considered an essential service by the WHO, there are indications that access to induced abortion care has been restricted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
objectivesTo 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.
designConvergent 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.
participantsAll 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.
resultsThe 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).
conclusionsThis 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.
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