Researchers used data on births, fetal deaths, and hospitalizations related to abortion complications during 2010-2016 in Brazil to forecast birth rates from September 2015 to December 2016, and found that 119,095 fewer births than expected occurred over the period, and that there were no changes in fetal death rates or increases in abortion-related hospitalizations, findings suggesting that pregnancy postponement and increase in safe abortions, likely due to awareness of Zika virus, may have contributed to the decline in birth, according to the authors.
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Article #17-18476: "Implications of Zika virus and congenital Zika syndrome for the number of live births in Brazil," by Marcia C. Castro, Qiuyi Han, Lucas Carvalho, Cesar Victora, and Giovanny França.
MEDIA CONTACT: Marcia C. Castro, Harvard University, Boston, MA; tel: 617-432-6731, 617-447-4749; e-mail: <mcastro@hsph.harvard.edu>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences