First-trimester medical abortion practices in Canada: National survey

To understand the current availability and practice of first-trimester medical abortion (MA) in Canada.

Using public sources and professional networks, abortion facilities across Canada were identified for a cross-sectional survey on medical and surgical abortion. English and French surveys were distributed by surface or electronic mail between July and November 2013.

Canada.

A total of 94 abortion facilities were identified.

Descriptive statistics on MA practice and facility and provider characteristics, as well as comparisons of MA practice by facility and provider characteristics using χ² and t tests.

A total of 78 of 94 (83.0%) facilities responded. Medical abortion represented 3.8% of first-trimester abortions reported (2706 of 70 860) in 2012. Among the facilities offering MA, 45.0% performed fewer than 500 first-trimester abortions a year, while 35.0% performed more than 1000. More MAs were performed in private offices or ambulatory health centres than in hospitals. Sixty-two physicians from 28 of 78 facilities reported providing first-trimester MA; 87.1% also provided surgical abortion. More than three-quarters of MA physicians were female and 56.5% were family physicians. A preponderance (85.2%) of providers offered methotrexate with misoprostol. Nearly all physicians (90.3%) required patients to have an ultrasound before MA, and 72.6% assessed the completion of the abortion with ultrasonography. Most physicians (74.2%) offered MA through 49 days after the onset of the last menstrual period, and 21.0% offered MA through 50 to 56 days; 37.1% reported providing MA to patients who lived more than 2 hours away. Four physicians from 1 site provided MA via telemedicine.

In Canada, MA provision using methotrexate and misoprostol is consistent with best-practice guidelines, but MA is rare and its availability is unevenly distributed.