To address the knowledge gap that exists in costing unsafe abortion in Ethiopia, estimates were derived of the cost to the health system of providing postabortion care (PAC), based on research conducted in 2008.
Unmet need for family planning is typically calculated for currently married women, but excluding husbands may result in misleading estimates of couples’ unmet need. This study builds on previous work and proposes a method of calculating couples’ unmet need for family planning based on spouses’ independent fertility intentions.
Because Brazilian law only permits abortion in cases of rape, fetal anencephaly, or risk to life, in 2012 the country’s Ministry of Health reported only 1,626 legal abortions in a nation with 203 million people. However, an estimated one million Brazilian women have abortions every year. Many of those women, particularly those without the financial or social resources to see a well-trained, willing provider, run a huge legal risk when they decide to end an unwanted pregnancy. The physical consequences also can be devastating.
This study assesed the severity of abortion complications in Malawi and determined associated risk factors. Between July 20 and September 13, 2009, a cross-sectional survey was conducted at 166 facilities providing postabortion care services.
Certainly, sharing abortion stories can be a powerful act and may reduce self-stigma. But I fear that it distracts from the structural inequalities of race, poverty, age, and education by placing too much emphasis on the individual. And I worry that it lets our politicians and policymakers off the hook.
Guidance for postabortion care (PAC) is established for the first trimester but limited in the second trimester. Objective: To establish evidence-based recommendations for PAC in the second trimester. Conclusion: Misoprostol with or without mifepristone is an effective treatment for second-trimester PAC. The minimum misoprostol dose is 200 μg vaginally, sublingually, or buccally every 6–12 hours.
A comprehensive structured program design, collaboration between the MOH and Ipas, and provider dedication enabled successful introduction of second-trimester abortion services in major regions/states of Ethiopia. A focus on second- trimester medical abortion allows for rapid service introduction without extensive changes to facilities, equipment, or staffing as the needs are similar to obstetric care.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights recently adopted General Comment No 2 to interpret provisions of Article 14 of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights Women.
This study describes postabortion complication severity and associated factors in Kenya. A nationally representative sample of 326 health facilities was included in the survey. Data were collected from 2,625 women presenting with abortion complications.
In order to narrow the gap between the promise and realization of African women’s right to reproductive health care, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights adopted General Comment No. 2 last year, releasing it online earlier this month. The document was drafted under the guidance of Commissioner Soyata Maiga, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa, with technical support from the Ipas Africa Alliance and input from numerous reproductive rights and legal experts throughout the region.
Despite liberalization of the Nepal abortion law, young women continue to experience barriers to safe abortion services. This study evaluated differences in reproductive knowledge and attitudes by marital status. Participants were surveyed on demographics, romantic experiences, media habits, reproductive information, and abortion knowledge and attitudes. Only 45% responded that they knew that abortion was legal, and fewer ever-married women were aware of abortion legality. Never-married women expected more negative responses from having an abortion than ever-married women. Findings highlight the need for providing sexual and reproductive health care information and services to young women regardless of marital status.
The primary study aim was to describe patient satisfaction regarding abortion experiences in urban academic family medicine centers (FMCs). We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 210 women obtaining a first trimester medication or aspiration abortion at four FMCs. The majority of women (93%) were very satisfied with their abortion experience in their FMC, regardless of clinical site or abortion method. Women most commonly cited positive interactions with the staff and physicians as the best part of their experience. This study demonstrates that women who receive abortion services at academic FMCs are highly satisfied with their care.
Maternal mortality in Sierra Leone is one of the highest in the world and complications from unsafe abortion are one of the leading causes. This article reports the results of a 2012 study to assess the impact and costs of treatment of abortion complications on the country’s public health system, and estimate the costs of a shift to safe, legal abortion. The study concludesdthat a shift to safe, legal abortion would dramatically reduce the current costs of PAC.
CONTEXT: Abortion is legally restricted in Malawi, and no data are available on the incidence of the procedure. METHODS: The Abortion Incidence Complications Methodology was used to estimate levels of induced abortion in Malawi in 2009. Data on provision of postabortion care were collected from 166 public, nongovernmental and private health facilities, and estimates of the likelihood that women who have abortions experience complications and seek care were obtained from 56 key informants.
This report documents findings from a recent nationwide study of the incidence of induced abortion and severity of complications of unsafe abortion in Kenya. The study was conducted in 2012 among a nationally representative sample of Levels II to VI public and private health facilities. The Abortion Incidence Complications Methodology (AICM) and the Prospective Morbidity Methodology (PMM) were used as well-established and complementary approaches to estimate abortion incidence and the severity of unsafe abortion complications in Kenya.
This paper assesses women’s awareness of the liberalization of abortion law and their knowledge of a place for obtaining abortion services in Nepal. The data are from the 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey. The results are compared with data from a similar survey conducted in 2006. The results suggest the need to intensify efforts to educate women in Nepal, particularly the most disadvantaged women, about abortion law, including the conditions under which abortion is permitted, and where to access safe abortion services.
Although abortion became legal in India in 1971, many women are unaware of the law. To evaluate the effectiveness of a behavior change communication intervention to improve women’s knowledge about India’s abortion law and their perceptions about abortion, a quasi-experimental study was conducted in intervention and comparison districts in Bihar and Jharkhand.