Cross-national differences in the use of contraception and abortion services between England, Wales, and Scotland
Cross-national differences in the use of contraception and abortion services between England, Wales, and Scotland
Dear Editor,
Overall levels of childbearing are significantly higher in England and Wales (total fertility rate of 1.62 and 1.49, respectively, in 2021) than in Scotland (1.31), but few studies have investigated the role of abortion or contraception as proximate determinants of fertility, leaving a key gap in knowledge. This is largely due to a paucity of continuously collected comparable data, since surveys that have historically collected such data (ie, the Omnibus Survey, General Household/Lifestyle Survey) have been discontinued. Existing administrative data on abortion rates collected from 2009 to 2020 show that abortion rates are consistently lower in Scotland than in England and Wales—by approximately eight abortions per 1000 women per year—meaning use of abortion cannot account for the persistently lower fertility levels in Scotland. Our analysis thus focuses on contraception and is the first to identify and quantify the extent of cross-national differences in Britain in contraceptive use, as well as method mix. The mix of contraceptive methods used is important because methods vary in their effectiveness at preventing pregnancy1 and may thus influence fertility.
contraception behavior, family planning services, Reproductive Health, sterilization, reproductive
143-144
Kuang, Bernice
0d9a40c9-11d3-463e-8b1a-ce0c9880485d
Berrington, Ann
bd0fc093-310d-4236-8126-ca0c7eb9ddde
11 April 2023
Kuang, Bernice
0d9a40c9-11d3-463e-8b1a-ce0c9880485d
Berrington, Ann
bd0fc093-310d-4236-8126-ca0c7eb9ddde
Kuang, Bernice and Berrington, Ann
(2023)
Cross-national differences in the use of contraception and abortion services between England, Wales, and Scotland.
BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health, 49 (2), .
(doi:10.1136/bmjsrh-2022-201635).
Abstract
Dear Editor,
Overall levels of childbearing are significantly higher in England and Wales (total fertility rate of 1.62 and 1.49, respectively, in 2021) than in Scotland (1.31), but few studies have investigated the role of abortion or contraception as proximate determinants of fertility, leaving a key gap in knowledge. This is largely due to a paucity of continuously collected comparable data, since surveys that have historically collected such data (ie, the Omnibus Survey, General Household/Lifestyle Survey) have been discontinued. Existing administrative data on abortion rates collected from 2009 to 2020 show that abortion rates are consistently lower in Scotland than in England and Wales—by approximately eight abortions per 1000 women per year—meaning use of abortion cannot account for the persistently lower fertility levels in Scotland. Our analysis thus focuses on contraception and is the first to identify and quantify the extent of cross-national differences in Britain in contraceptive use, as well as method mix. The mix of contraceptive methods used is important because methods vary in their effectiveness at preventing pregnancy1 and may thus influence fertility.
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Kuang and Berrington 2022
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Accepted/In Press date: 27 October 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 20 December 2022
Published date: 11 April 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This research was supported by Economic and Social Research Council grant ES/S009477/1 (Understanding Recent Fertility Trends in the UK and Improving Methodologies for Fertility Forecasting)
Keywords:
contraception behavior, family planning services, Reproductive Health, sterilization, reproductive
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 473010
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/473010
ISSN: 2515-1991
PURE UUID: 8a794c62-bc2d-4f92-b598-d83daa496cc9
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Date deposited: 06 Jan 2023 18:01
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:40
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Author:
Bernice Kuang
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