Abortion Experience among Obstetric Patients at Korle-Bu Hospital, Accra, Ghana

PIP: Hospital admissions for complications of abortion have been increasing in Africa, indicating a rise in the incidence of abortion. In all pregnant women ever admitted to Korle-Bu hospital in Accra, Ghana, the chance that the outcome of their last pregnancy was an induced abortion decreased as the number of previous pregnancies increased. Women with higher levels of education were more likely to have their 1st pregnancy terminated in an induced abortion. Younger women were more likely than older women at each level of education to have an induced abortion terminate a 1st pregnancy. The use of contraceptives during the last pregnancy interval increased with the level of education of the woman and the number of previous pregnancies. Contraceptive use was also highest among women whose last pregnancy outcome was an induced abortion. The mean pregnancy interval decreased with increasing number of previous pregnancies for both women who used and who did not use contraceptives during their last pregnancy interval. But the mean pregnancy interval was higher among women who used contraceptives. It appears that the abortion experience in this region of Africa is most common in lower parity young women with high levels of education who desire to delay a 1st birth or to space births. This is in contrast in Latin America and other developing countries in which abortion is used mainly by older, married, urban women to limit family size. Contraceptive use in this region of Africa is low, indicating the need for more family planning programs and increasing use of existing programs

Abortion · Developing country · Economic growth · Environmental health · Family medicine · Medical emergency · Obstetrics · Population · Pregnancy · Teaching hospital · Assisted Reproductive Technology and Twin Pregnancy · Global Maternal and Child Health · Medicine · Reproductive Health and Contraception · Pediatrics