One in five women who voluntarily terminated their pregnancy in 2022 was between 20 and 24 years old, reveals a DGS report, which points to a 15% increase in the number of abortions performed compared to 2021.
According to the 2022 Pregnancy Interruption Records Analysis Report from the Directorate-General for Health, released today, 15.870 pregnancy interruptions were carried out at the woman's request in the first 10 weeks in 2022, «numbers that represent an increase of 15% compared to 2021 and which are in line with the trend seen in other European Union countries».
The data indicate that the age group between 20 and 24 years old was the one that most resorted to voluntary termination of pregnancy (IVG), totaling 25,3%, followed by the group between 25 and 29 years old (23,7%) and those aged 30 to 34 (20,1%), corresponding to around 69% of the total.
The percentage of IVG in women under 20 years of age has been decreasing slightly, falling from 10,8% in 2013 to 8,6% in 2022.
As in previous years, the median age of women remained at 28 years.
«The number of non-Portuguese women terminating their pregnancies by choice has increased slightly (28,9% in 2022, 25,9% in 2021 and 24,6% in 2020), in line with the increase in foreign women residing in Portugal", says the document.
Termination of pregnancy at the woman's option in the first 10 weeks remained the main reason at all ages (96,4%), says the report, adding that serious illness or congenital malformation of the unborn child caused 543 IVG (3,3% ).
The incidence of IVG (per 1.000 live births), by health region, of women's residence increased from 180,3 to 196,9 at national level, reflecting the increase seen in all regions.
«This indicator is used for international comparisons, and Portugal has maintained records below the European average which, in 2019 (latest data available), was 209,9», says the DGS.
The majority of IVGs continue to be carried out in the National Health Service (68,6%), with medication being the most used procedure in these units (98,9%) and, in the private sector, it continues to be surgery (95,3%). %).
As in previous years, the main type of referral to private units was made through primary health care. However, in 2022, referrals from public hospitals to these units increased by around 6,5% compared to 2021 (23,5%).
The DGS states that the average waiting time between the prior consultation and IVG at the woman's option was 6,4 days (with a median of five days) and the median gestational age at interruption remained at seven weeks.
«The average waiting time for the preliminary consultation was 2,88 days, with a median of 1», he says, noting that the wait in days until the preliminary consultation may not reflect the real time between the first moment of active search for care on the part of the woman and the aforementioned consultation, since the registration is carried out by the unit that carries out the procedure and not by the one that makes the referral (in the case of not performing IVG), which may not coincide.
The majority of women continue to resort to the unit on their own initiative to perform IVG, «which can reveal greater autonomy and easier access».
In 2022, Lisbon and Vale do Tejo continued to be the region where the most IVG took place, but, despite representing 58,9% of the total IVG, it was found that 3,1% of women did not live in this area.
This difference was also found in the North and Algarve regions, but to a lesser extent.
Around 93% of women who underwent IVG subsequently chose a contraceptive method, with the option for long-acting methods showing a decrease of around 2,5 percentage points compared to 2021, standing at 35,1%.
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