[Voluntary pregnancy termination in the canton of Vaud in 2002]

No rates of pregnancy termination are available for Switzerland as a whole. In the canton of Vaud, however, pregnancy termination has been monitored for over ten years. The annual incidence (10.9 per 1000 residents in 2002) is one of the lowest recorded worldwide, but considerable variations are observed depending on age and on nationality; the incidence for non-Swiss nationals being three times higher than for Swiss nationals. As in the past, and in line with legislative changes that came into effect in October 2002, the vast majority of pregnancy terminations take place before the twelfth week of pregnancy. Repeat termination is relatively frequent: a quarter of those requesting termination in 2002 reported previous experience of pregnancy termination. In parous women, one in five requests for termination occurs less than one year after the birth of the last child. These data indicate that contraceptive counselling should be reinforced at the time of childbirth and following pregnancy termination.