Contraceptive practice after women have undergone "spontaneous" abortion in Indonesia and Sudan

Studies of hospitalized "spontaneous" abortion patients in two Muslim countries (Indonesia and Sudan) revealed the need for contraception in this group of married women and indicated the potential role of maternity hospitals in providing them with contraceptive counseling. It could not be determined which of the abortions were induced outside the hospital and which were truly spontaneous. Of the 893 women treated at the Djakarta Hospital, 15.3% used contraceptives during the month of conception of the index abortion, compared to 10.0% of the 2 759 patients in Khartoum. After hospitalization for completion of the abortion, the rates of contraceptive use increased by more than one third in both cities. The highest rates of increase in contraceptive use after abortion were noted among poorly educated women, women with large families, and women with abortions diagnosed as septic. Among the nonseptic patients at all hospitals, those experiencing complications associated with the abortion reported a slightly higher rate of postabortion contraceptive use. In hospitals where contraceptive counseling was provided, there was a proportional increase in postabortion use of contraceptives by the study population.