Rates of Induced Abortion in Denmark According to Age, Previous Births and Previous Abortions

Marie-Louise H. Hansen, University of Copenhagen
Ditte Moelgaard-Nielsen, University of Copenhagen
Lisbeth B. Knudsen, Aalborg University
Niels Keiding, University of Copenhagen

The target of this study is the effect of previous abortions and births on Danish women’s risk of an abortion, as modified by age, calendar time, marital status and urbanization. We use data on the number of live births and induced abortions by year (1981-2001), age (20-39), county of residence and marital status. We estimate probabilities of having an abortion in a given year for specific combinations of these covariates and use logistic regression analysis to estimate the combined influence of the explanatory variables. The main findings are that a woman’s risk of having an abortion increases with the number of previous births and previous abortions, and that interesting interactions exist in the way a woman’s risk of abortion varies with calendar year, age and parity. We are not aware of similar results in the literature, based on national data.