Desire for children and subsequent abortions in Matlab, Bangladesh

This study investigated the relationship between desire for children and subsequent abortions in the treatment and comparison areas of Matlab, where ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research has been maintaining a Demographic Surveillance System (DSS) since 1966. The women at risk of pregnancy, interviewed in the In-depth-1984 (Cohort-84) and KAP-1990 (Cohort-90) surveys, were followed for five years through the DSS to ascertain their subsequent pregnancy outcomes. The desire for children was negatively associated with the risk of subsequent abortion in recent years. The number of abortions was higher in the comparison area than in the treatment area and increased over time in both the areas among those who wanted no more children. Among the sample women, one in five abortees had repeated abortions in the comparison area, but none had repeated abortions in the treatment area. The other factors associated with high risk of abortion were: old age, education, Hindu religion, and use of contraceptives (at the time of survey). The findings suggest that targeting women who want to limit family size with high-quality family-planning services would reduce the incidence of once and repeated abortions.