Akademiliv

Sahlgrenska akademins nyheter

På Svenska
University of Gothenburg Logotype
  • News
  • Notices
  • Grants
  • About Akademiliv

Swedish abortion care unimpaired during first pandemic wave

8 April, 2022

NEW STUDY. Swedish abortion care appears to have withstood the pandemic. During the first wave in 2020, abortion rates remained unchanged, and women did not hesitate to go through with abortions as planned, a study from the University of Gothenburg shows.

The study, published in the journal BMJ Open, rests on a quantitative analysis of reported abortions and births in Sweden and a qualitative analysis of women’s experience of seeking abortions at clinics during the first pandemic wave.

Sources include national register data on all women aged 15–44 who were resident in Sweden in the years 2018–2020: a total of approximately 1.9 million individuals. The study period comprises the time both before and after classification of the spread of COVID-19 as a pandemic.

The qualitative part is based on interviews with 15 women who sought care at abortion clinics during the first wave of the pandemic. These interviews focused both on the women’s encounters with abortion care — including access and risks of becoming infected and infecting others — and how their abortion decisions may have been affected by the fear of contracting COVID-19 during pregnancy, and by their perceived loneliness and social isolation during the pandemic.

Safety for women in Sweden

The results show that during the study period, compared with pre-pandemic figures, the numbers of abortions and ongoing pregnancies underwent no appreciable change. Neither was there any significant difference in the timing of the women’s abortion-seeking during pregnancy.

According to the study, responses to the interviewees’ apprehensions about care access and their own health were supportive. Those who sought abortions did not hesitate to go ahead with the decision.

“As we’ve been able to show, Swedish abortion care was relatively unaffected by the first pandemic wave. This is an important message to convey to women living in Sweden, to give them a sense of security,” says Johanna Rydelius, doctoral student in obstetrics and gynecology at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg; gynecologist at Sahlgrenska University Hospital; and the study’s first author.

Major international differences

Although the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes the importance of good abortion care, there have been indications that access to this care has been restricted during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this does not seem to apply in Sweden, Rydelius states.

“A comparison with the rest of the world is interesting. There, trends have been in two totally opposing directions. In some countries, such as Hungary and Slovakia, the situation was one of drastically reduced access to abortion care and at times during the pandemic it’s been virtually impossible to undergo an abortion. On the other hand, there’s the situation that arose in the UK, where access drastically improved thanks to virtual care visits and delivery of drugs by mail.”

The study’s register data on abortions in Sweden cover the period from January 2018 to June 2020, while for data on births relate it was from January 2018 to March 2021. The spread of COVID-19 was classified as a pandemic by WHO on March 11, 2020, and the study interviews were conducted in Gothenburg in June 2020.

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

BY: MARGARETA GUSTAFSSON KUBISTA

By: Elin Lindström

HAPPY SUMMER!

The newsletter from Akademiliv will return on Wednesday, August 21st.

Contact your institute to add your event to the calendar in the Staff Portal

  • Biomedicine: Kristian Kvint: kalender@biomedicine.gu.se
  • Core Facilities: Amelie Karlsson: amelie.karlsson.2@gu.se
  • Clinical Sciences: Katarina Olinder Eriksson: klinvet@gu.se
  • Medicine: Nina Raun; kommunikation@medicine.gu.se
  • Neuroscience and Physiology: Josefin Bergenholtz; kommunikation@neuro.gu.se
  • Odontology: Johan Thompson; info@odontologi.gu.se
  • Sahlgrenska Academy’s Office and faculty-wide calendar events Åsa Ekvall; info@sahlgrenska.gu.se
  • Health and Care Sciences: Karin Mossberg; vardvetenskap@fhs.gu.se

Information from Sahlgrenska Academy Research Support Office

[UPDATED JUNE 2024]
The Sahlgrenska Academy Research Support Office provides an overview of upcoming and current calls, nominations and events in an information letter. This letter is updated on a monthly basis.
Current and previous newsletters are also available in the Staff Portal.

’20 minutes for researchers’ is back – see full spring program

During 20 minutes over Zoom, the Biomedical Library gives tips on tools and services that can facilitate your research everyday life.

More news

En personlig död (A Personal Death) – a chance to win Björn Fagerberg’s new book

27 May, 2024

NEW BOOK. During his career as a physician specializing in internal medicine, Björn Fagerberg has been involved in many end-of-life situations, …  

She is doing her residency in the US with a medical degree from Gothenburg

21 May, 2024

STUDENT. Doing a “residency” in orthopedics in the United States is an unattainable dream for many newly qualified American doctors. Now Janina Ka …  

Alba Corell reports from a high-level brain tumor meeting

20 May, 2024

COLUMN. The recent gathering of the Scandinavian Society of Neuro-oncology (SNOG) in Gothenburg has concluded. Professor Asgeir Jakola hosted and …  

From South Africa to Sweden: Collaborative Research Efforts Improving Pregnant Women’s Health

17 May, 2024

GLOBAL HEALTH. In the bustling Tygerberg University Hospital in Cape Town, a dedicated research team led by Lina Bergman, is on a mission to …  

Sara Bjursten and Anna Wenger are the recipients of the Assar Gabrielsson Prize 2024

17 May, 2024

AWARD. The Assar Gabrielsson Foundation has named Anna Wenger as the winner in the basic science research category and Sara Bjursten as the …  

A full day for PhD students focused on mental health

16 May, 2024

PHD STUDENTS. For the sixth time, PhD students at Sahlgrenska Academy were invited to PhD Day, organized by the Doctoral Student Council. The day …  

Kaj Blennow ranked highest in Sweden in neuroscience

16 May, 2024

AWARD. In this year's edition of the researcher ranking from Research.com in the field of neuroscience, Kaj Blennow is ranked 17th …  

Linda Wass is doing a postdoc at Stanford with ALF funding

14 May, 2024

ALF FUNDING. Biomedical Scientist Linda Wass has just settled in Stanford, California, where she will spend two years as a postdoc. She is the …  

Karin Nilsson wrote the Thesis of the Year at Sahlgrenska Academy in 2023

14 May, 2024

AWARD. Karin Nilsson, currently a postdoc at the Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, receives the faculty-wide Thesis of the …  

Some answers from the proposed members of the next Faculty Board

14 May, 2024

FACULTY ELECTIONS. The eight proposed members of the next Faculty Board hereby give some brief answers on how they want to contribute to the work …  

More news...

Sahlgrenska Academy

© University of Gothenburg
PO-Box 100, S-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
Phone: 00 46 31 786 0000

About the website

Elin Lindström is editor for Akademiliv.
Please feel free to send your ideas and comments to akademiliv@gu.se

Sign up for the Akademiliv newsletter:

Send you tips to Akademiliv

Do you have a suggestion for news, grants, seminars or an education?
Send an email to Elin Lindström Claessen