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Hospital admissions resulting from unsafe abortion: estimates from 13 developing countries
1Guttmacher Institute, 120 Wall Street, New York 10005, USA. ssingh@guttmacher.org
Lancet (London, England)
|November 28, 2006
Summary
Unsafe abortions lead to an estimated five million hospital admissions annually in developing countries. Improving access to safe abortion services and post-abortion care is crucial to reduce this significant public health burden.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Gynaecology
- Reproductive Health
Background:
- Complications from unsafe abortions constitute a major cause of gynaecological hospital admissions in developing nations.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that unsafe abortions contribute to one in eight pregnancy-related deaths.
- Scarcity of data due to social stigma and legal restrictions necessitates accurate estimations of unsafe abortion's magnitude.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the rate and number of hospital admissions resulting from unsafe abortions in developing countries.
- To quantify the public health impact of unsafe abortions.
- To inform policy and interventions aimed at reducing adverse outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Compilation of national estimates of abortion-related hospital admissions for women aged 15-44 years in 13 developing countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
- Inclusion of supplementary data from five sub-Saharan African countries to provide regional estimates.
- Analysis of hospital admission rates per 1000 women.
Main Results:
- Annual hospitalization rates for unsafe abortion complications range from 3 per 1000 women in Bangladesh to 15 per 1000 in Egypt and Uganda.
- An estimated five million women in the developing world are hospitalized annually for complications of induced abortions.
- The average rate across developing regions (excluding China) is 5.7 hospital admissions per 1000 women per year.
Conclusions:
- The findings quantify the substantial adverse health effects of unsafe abortions in developing countries.
- Improved access to post-abortion care and safe abortion services is essential.
- Monitoring the impact of interventions like misoprostol and emphasizing contraceptive services are key to reducing illness and death from unsafe abortions.
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