Reproductive health in the Baltic Sea Area
Keywords:
reproductive health, abortion, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, Baltic Sea AreaAbstract
This paper aims to compare the reproductive health situation in the selected Baltic area countries - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, and in St. Petersburg. The analyses focus on the trends and incidence of induced abortions, family planning, contraception, and STDs. National data were obtained by sending questionnaires to the medical statistics bureaus o f Estonia. Latvia, Lithuania, and the Russian Family Planning Association. Also, annual official statistical reports and the annual statistics from Estonian, Finnish, and Swedish abortion registers were used. The different reproductive health situations in the Baltic area countries prove that the cornerstones for improved reproductive health (low incidence o f abortions, teenage pregnancies, and STDs) are comprehensive family planning and sex education programs, new health promotion strategies, and openness in society concerning sexuality.
