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Severity and cost of unsafe abortion complications
treated in Nigerian hospitals.
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| Article Type: | Brief article |
| Subject: |
Abortion
(Complications and side effects) Labor, Complicated (Care and treatment) Mothers (Patient outcomes) Mothers (Statistics) Mothers (Causes of) |
| Pub Date: | 11/01/2009 |
| Publication: | Name: Reproductive Health Matters Publisher: Reproductive Health Matters Audience: General Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Family and marriage; Health; Women's issues/gender studies Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 Reproductive Health Matters ISSN: 0968-8080 |
| Issue: | Date: Nov, 2009 Source Volume: 17 Source Issue: 34 |
| Topic: | Event Code: 680 Labor Distribution by Employer Canadian Subject Form: Labour complications |
| Geographic: | Geographic Scope: Nigeria Geographic Code: 6NIGR Nigeria |
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| Accession Number: | 225074445 |
| Full Text: |
Abortion in Nigeria is permitted only to save the life of the
woman, and illegal and unsafe abortion rates are high. In a 2002-2003
survey of women and their providers in 33 public and private hospitals
in eight states across Nigeria, 2,093 patients were identified as being
treated for abortion-related complications or miscarriage. Among those
admitted for abortion-related reasons, 36% had attempted to end the
pregnancy before coming to hospital (including 24% with and 12% without
serious complications), 33% obtained an induced abortion at the facility
without having made a prior abortion attempt, and 32% were treated for
complications of miscarriage. Of women with serious complications, 24%
had sepsis, 21% pelvic infection and 11% instrumental injury. 22%
required blood transfusion and 10% needed abdominal surgery. More than
2% died. This mortality rate and findings from another study indicate
that a minimum of 3,000 (and probably many more). Nigerian women die
annually from unsafe abortion. The financial cost to women of treatment
for complications of unsafe abortion was four times the cost of a safe
abortion in hospital. The women with serious complications from unsafe
abortions were poorer and later in gestation than the others. They paid
more for treatment (about 13,900 naira) than those who went directly to
a hospital for abortion (3,800 naira). Many said they had first attended
a doctor for abortion, indicating that doctors are not well-trained in
abortion services. Law reform, improved access to contraceptive
services, better training in safe abortion and post-abortion care are
needed to reduce abortion-related morbidity and mortality. (1) (1.) Henshaw SK, Adewole I, Singh S, et al. Severity and cost of unsafe abortion complications treated in Nigerian hospitals. International Family Planning Perspectives 2008;34(1):40-50. |
| Gale Copyright: | Copyright 2009 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. |
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