Impact of COVID-19 on abortion method under ten weeks gestational age in Southern California

Sullender, Renee T.; Jacobs, Marni; Bukowski, Kyle; Marengo, Antoinette; Mody, Sheila K.; Averbach, Sarah

doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2022.02.010

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Our findings of increased use of medication abortion during the pandemic echo those of other studies. [12][13][14][15][16][56][57][58] Notably, this shift in method is not exclusive to states that restricted abortion during the pandemic, suggesting that the additional hyper-surveillance and regulation of facilities in states like Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia was likely not a singular driving factor in this shift to increased medication abortion use. Rather, facilities in these states adapted their service delivery in part based on public health guidance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Texas, which banned instrumentation abortions under state emergency COVID orders, there was increased use of medication abortion in the first trimester 14 . Facilities in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, 15 and Southern California 16 also experienced increases in medication abortion provision during the pandemic, despite a lack of state orders requiring them to do so. Contrastingly, facilities in Northern California 17 saw an increase in the number of instrumentation abortions during this same period, suggesting variation within individual state contexts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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COVID‐19 and abortion in the Ohio River Valley: A case study of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia

Smith

Broscoe

Chakraborty

et al. 2023

Perspect Sexual Reproductive

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IntroductionDuring early stages of COVID‐19 in the United States, government representatives in Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia restricted or threatened to restrict abortion care under elective surgery bans. We examined how abortion utilization changed in these states.MethodologyWe examined COVID‐19 abortion‐related state policies implemented in March and April 2020 using publicly available sources. We analyzed data on abortions by method and gestation and experiences of facility staff, using a survey of 14 facilities. We assessed abortions that took place in February–June 2020 and February–June 2021.ResultsIn February–June 2020 the monthly average abortion count was 1916; 863 (45%) were medication abortions and 229 (12%) were ≥14 weeks gestation. Of 1959 abortions performed across all three states in April 2020, 1319 (67%) were medication abortions and 231 (12%) were ≥14 weeks gestation. The shift toward medication abortion that took place in April 2020 was not observed in April 2021. Although the total abortion count in the three‐state region remained steady, West Virginia had the greatest decline in total abortions, Ohio experienced a shift from instrumentation to medication abortions, and Kentucky saw little change. Staff reported increased stress from concerns over health and safety and increased scrutiny by the state and anti‐abortion protesters.DiscussionAlthough abortion provision continued in this region, policy changes restricting abortion in Ohio and West Virginia resulted in a decrease in first trimester instrumentation abortions, an overall shift toward medication abortion care, and an increase in stress among facility staff during the early phase of COVID‐19.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID‐19 and abortion in the Ohio River Valley: A case study of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia

Smith

Broscoe

Chakraborty

et al. 2023

Perspect Sexual Reproductive

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The increase in percentage of medical abortions over total first trimester abortions at a high volume independent clinic in Detroit differs from a previous publication based in Southern California. 3 With each study displaying different trends, statistical measures, and pre-and postabortion procedures, the authors of this publication seek to provide valuable insight, highlighting the difference in human response across the country during a pandemic. In ad-dition, this research utilized a novel approach to account for potential seasonal fluctuations in abortion trends by directly comparing each quarter from 2020 to the respective quarter from 2019.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the surge in demand for remote care and telehealth visits as a result of COVID-19, the authors hypothe-sized that there would be an increase in medical abortions over surgical abortions for first trimester voluntary terminations during the pandemic, as seen in abortion pandemic research. 3 The State of Michigan enacted a "stay-at-home" executive order on March 24, 2020. 4 Although this order allowed exceptions for seeking "tasks that are necessary to health and safety," it also ordered that "all individuals who leave their home or place of residence must adhere to social distancing measures … including remaining at least six feet from people."…”

Section: Introduction 1study Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

Transient rise in medical abortions at Michigan clinic during SARS-CoV-2 “stay-at-home” order

Steffes,

Wang,

Dennis

2023

North American Proceedings in Gynecology &Amp; Obstetrics

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Background In response to the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, the State of Michigan enacted a “stay-at-home” executive order detailing social distancing guidelines on March 24, 2020, with an expiration date of June 1, 2020. Objectives Given that medical abortions allow for pregnancy tissue to be passed in the privacy of one’s home, the authors hypothesized that there would be an increase in medical abortions over first trimester surgical abortions in 2020 compared to 2019 due to social distancing guidelines. Study Design Retrospective data was collected from an abortion clinic in Southeastern Michigan between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2020 (n=4,703). A negative binomial statistical model compared the number of medical abortions in 2019 to 2020. Each year was divided into quartile (Q) periods of three consecutive months. Analysis focused on the frequency and percentage of medical abortions in 2020 compared to 2019, with a focus on the relationship between quartiles. Results Medical abortions increased from a count of 702 in 2019, to 979 in 2020 (p-value=0.00499). There were statistically significant differences between 2019 and 2020 for Q2 (31.47% to 40.89%, p-value<0.001) and Q3 (33.15% to 53.70%, p-value<0.001), as well as a return-to-baseline in Q4, which is demonstrated by pre-executive order 2020 Q1 at 33.91% and post-executive order 2020 Q4 at 37.19%. Conclusions Statistically significant differences between 2019 and 2020 for Q2 and Q3 support the hypothesis that an increase in preference towards medical abortions over surgical abortions coincided with Michigan’s stay-at-home mandates; it was further supported by insignificant differences in 2019 and 2020 for Q1 and Q4. Understanding trends in patient choices for abortion access provides vital information for policymakers and healthcare providers to expand medical abortion care using remote options.

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Impact of COVID-19 on abortion method under ten weeks gestational age in Southern California

Cited by 2 publications

References 9 publications

COVID‐19 and abortion in the Ohio River Valley: A case study of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia

COVID‐19 and abortion in the Ohio River Valley: A case study of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia

Transient rise in medical abortions at Michigan clinic during SARS-CoV-2 “stay-at-home” order

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