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Title: Induced abortions and births. Changes in maternal age and parity in six counties, Norway, 1972-1981.
Author: Skjeldestad FE.
Journal: Scand J Soc Med; 1988; 16(2):115-9. PubMed ID: 3387936.
Abstract:
During the 1970s the abortion law changed twice in Norway. As of 1976 induced abortion was accepted on social indications, while abortion on womens' demand was introduced in 1979. This study presents age-specific abortion- and birth rates as well as age- and parity-specific abortion ratio from 1972-1981. From 1972 to 1974 the number of induced abortions increased. Since then the general abortion rate has decreased. For all parity groups the number of pregnancies terminated by induced abortion increased during the first 3 years of the study. While nulliparous women showed a continuous increase in the abortion ratio throughout the study period, the abortion ratio for parous women has been relatively stable since 1975. Through the use of induced abortion nulliparous mothers postpone the birth of their first child. Therefore induced abortion contributes to an increasing maternal age at first child birth. The present study can support the hypothesis that multiparous women, among other means, have used induced abortion to establish the 2-child family norm during the 1970s. The changes in age and parity patterns of women terminating their pregnancies by legal abortion and of women giving birth during the 1972-81 period were compared, a period in which abortion legislation changed twice in Norway. Particularly, trends of changes in frequencies of induced abortion and the impact on fertility were studied. The data source was the Induced Abortion Records in 6 Norwegian counties. The counties were from all parts of Norway, but the selection was not random. The female population in these 6 counties represented nearly 1/5 -- 19.1% -- of the fertile female Norwegian population throughout the study period. The number of births in the study population decreased from 23.9% to 19.1% of all births in Norway during the study period. The study population accounted for 17.7% of all induced abortions in Norway in 1972 and 19.3% in 1981. The general birthrate decreased from 89 births/1000 women 15-44 years in 1972 to 59 births/1000 women in 1981. The decrease was more pronounced in the age groups below 25 years. Women aged 20-24 had the highest birthrate compared to other groups in the beginning of the 1970s, but in the latter part of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, age group 25-29 had the highest birthrate. While the birthrate for age group 20-24 decreased throughout the entire study period, the birthrate for age group 25-29 decreased until 1977 and has later been relatively stable. The general abortion rate increased until 1974 and has been decreasing slightly since then. The age-specific abortion rates for the age groups below 25 years increased until 1974-75 and since then has been relatively stable. For the age groups above 25 years, the abortion rates have decreased significantly from 1974-81. Over 90% of the women 15-19 years were nulliparous at the time of induced abortion, the proportion increasing slightly over time. For all other age groups, there was a significant increase of nulliparous women terminating their pregnancies throughout the study period. There was a significant increase in induced abortions among nulliparous as well as multiparous pregnant women throughout the study period. The general abortion ratio for multiparous women increased to a maximum in 1977 and since then has declined. Within each parity group, the various age groups above 20 years showed the same abortion ratio pattern. Throughout the study period, women para 2+ had the highest abortion ratio. Among nulliparous women, women aged 25-29 had the lowest abortion rate.

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