ISSUES
: Abortion
Chapter 2: Abortion debate
22
Unsafe abortion: seven million women
at risk from dangerous pregnancy
termination
U
nsafe
abortions
result
in seven million women
needing
treatment
for
complications every year. Pakistan
was found to have the highest
rate for women needing medical
care following unsafe procedures,
a study published in
BJOG: An
International Journal of Obstetrics
& Gynaecology
found.
Unsafe abortions are one of the
leading causes of maternal mortality
across the globe, accounting for
up to 15% of the 800 women who
die from preventable pregnancy-
related causes every day. Yet these
figures do not take into account the
number of women who are left in
need of hospital treatment, often
leading to lifelong health problems
and disability.
Dr Susheela Singh, from the
Guttmacher Institute and lead
author of the study, said: “We
already know that around 22 million
unsafe abortions take place each
year, resulting in the death of at
least 22,000 women. Our study
provides further evidence about the
number of women who suffer injury
as a result of complications due to
unsafe abortion, often leading to
chronic disability. These statistics
represent only part of the problem
as they do not include women who
need care, but do not visit health
facilities.”
Most unsafe abortions take place
where the procedure is illegal,
or in developing countries where
well-trained medical practitioners
are unaffordable or not readily
available. They also take place in
areas where modern contraceptives
are unavailable. Methods include
drinking toxic fluids like turpentine
or bleach, inflicting direct injury
to the vagina, such as inserting a
coat hanger or twig into the uterus,
or carrying out external injury like
blunt trauma to the abdomen.
The
latest
study
showed
Pakistan (where abortion is legal
only to preserve the mother’s
health) to have the highest rate
of complications from unsafe
abortions, with 14.6 in every 1,000
women aged between 15 and 44
needing treatment. Regionally,
Asia had the highest rate, with 4.6
in 1,000 women needing treatment
every year. This, the authors said,
was driven by high rates in South-
Central Asia.
Africa was found to be the next
worst region, with 1.6 million
women needing care, followed by
Latin America and the Caribbean.
The lowest treatment rate was
found in Brazil, with 2.4 per
1,000 women requiring care.
Researchers used official health
statistics and studies from 26
countries, and data were adjusted
to take into account the number of
women receiving treatment in the
private sector, and excluding those
who needed treatment following a
miscarriage.
As well as the huge health burden,
the study found unsafe abortions
cost an estimated $232 million
(£148 million) on post-abortion
care in the developing world. Singh
said: “The provision of better
reproductive healthcare, including
access to family planning services,
contraception and safe abortion
where the law allows, would have
significant economic benefits as
well as improving the health and
well-being of women and their
families.”
19 August 2015
Ö
The above information is
reprinted with kind permission
from
International Business
Times
. Please visit www.
ibtimes.co.uk
for
further
information.
© International Business
Times 2016
