[Prevalence of illegal abortions in Libreville Hospital, Gabon]

The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of illegal abortion in Libreville and to describe abortive methods used. It is a cross sectional and descriptive survey carried out at the maternity hospital of Libreville (MHL) during one year, from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008. 750 abortions were performed during this period and 651 cases were illegal abortions. Prevalence was of 86.7%. The women undergoing illegal abortion were most often pupils (67.1%), with an average age of 22.4 +/- 5.3 years old and a mean parity of 1.2 +/- 1.50. The average gestational term was of 7.4 +/- 1.9 weeks. Misoprostol (63.1%) was the most frequent abortive product used. 2 maternal deaths were notified. Prevalence of illegal abortions is increasing at the MHL. Up to now, misoprostol is the most frequent abortive product used.