Beschreibung:
<jats:p>Objective: To evaluate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on termination of pregnancy. Methods: This was a retrospective study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on termination of pregnancy in a single center in Italy. Consecutive data on pregnant women who requested induced termination of pregnancy (I-TOP) from February 2018 to December 2021 were included in a dedicated database. The data were divided into two groups according to the COVID-19 outbreak. Women who requested I-TOP from February 2018 to January 2020 were included into the group ‘before COVID-19 pandemic’. Women who requested I-TOP from February 2020 to January 2022 were included into the group ‘during COVID-19 pandemic’. Indications for I-TOP included elective abortion and therapeutic for fetal or maternal indication. Results: A total of 2578 women were included in the study. Of them, 1637 had I-TOP before COVID-19, and 941 had I-TOP during COVID-19. During the pandemic, the request for elective abortion decreased from 76.2% to 67.7% (p<0.01). Therapeutic abortion were performed in 141/693 cases in the first trimester, and in 552/693 cases in the second trimester. Overall, 91 were for maternal indications and 602 for fetal indications. No differences were noticed between before and during pandemic (p=0.99). Follow-up visits two weeks after abortions were offered to all women. However, only 35.5% women visited for follow-up during pandemic vs. 65.0% before COVID-19 (p<0.01). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic had impact on access to abortion services, reducing request for elective abortion and post-abortion follow-up visits.</jats:p>