Background Contraception is a key prevention strategy for maternal morbidity and mortality and is an important component of postabortion care. The trend of contraceptive uptake can guide interventions among vulnerable individuals. The aim of the study was to determine the trends of immediate post-abortion contraceptive uptake among women who had induced abortion at a dedicated abortion centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Method This study was a retrospective cross-sectional and trend analysis of the contraceptive uptake among women who had legal termination of unwanted pregnancy at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH), from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2020. We reviewed the nursing records and summaries of the induced abortion cases that were performed for the past eleven years from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2020. The trends in the annual number of abortion seeking clients, annual contraceptive uptake rate (stratified by types), age of clients and gestational age at presentation were extracted into a spreadsheet for analysis. Join point regression modelling and Pearson’s chi square were utilized to assess the trends and association between categorical variables. The trends before and during the Corona Virus disease(COVID-19) era were also compared. Results In all, 12,006 clients had induced abortion over the study period. Nearly half (n = 5915, 49.26%) of the clients were aged 26–40 years, one tenth (n = 1157, 9.64%) being teenagers and one third (n = 4619, 38.47%) between age 19–25 years. There was a 16.3% annual increase in the number of abortion clients performed at the facility from 2010 to 2014 and a gradual declining trend of about 9.2% per annum from 2014 to 2019. The overall postabortion contraceptive uptake rate was 74.5%. There was an initial 15.1% annual decline in contraceptive uptake per 100 clients from 2010 to 2014 and a subsequent increasing trend of about 11.1% per annum from 53.45 per 100 clients in 2014 to 98 per 100 clients in 2019. About 66.43% of the clients opted for injectable contraceptives. There was a reduction in the number of abortion seeking clients by 32.2% from 985 in 2019 to 668 in 2020 during the COVID-19 era. However, the contraceptive uptake was still high in 2020 (90.72%). There was no statistically significant relationship between the age group and the time periods. Thus, the distribution of the age group accessing the abortion services did not significantly change over the two time periods of 2010–2014 and 2015–2019. (P-value = 0.076). Conclusion There was increased trends in postabortion contraceptive uptake among our clients from 2010 to 2020. Although there was reduced number of performed induced abortion during the COVID -19 era, the contraception uptake rate was still high during the COVID-19 era. About 6 out of every 10 clients accepted injectable contraceptives. More education is needed to improve uptake of other long-acting contraception that may not require frequent contact with the health facility.

Introduction access to family planning services is an important preventive strategy against maternal mortality as it can considerably reduce unintended pregnancies and prevent sequelae of unsafe abortion. We aimed to describe the socio-demographic and reproductive characteristics of abortion seekers and investigate factors associated with uptake of contraceptives following induced abortion at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa. Methods this study was a cross-sectional study among women who had legal termination of unwanted pregnancy at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH), from 1 st January 2021 to July 2021. Questionnaires were administered to 80 consenting consecutive clients after undergoing induced abortion. Information on socio-demographic and reproductive characteristics and pattern of contraceptive uptake of the respondents were obtained. Descriptive and bivariate analysis were conducted to determine the pattern and relationship of socio-demographic and reproductive characteristics and contraceptive uptake. Results the mean age of the 80 respondents was 25.6 ± 6.6 years. Majority of the participants were of the Black race (96.25%, n= 77/80), single (90.00%, n= 72/80), of the Christian faith (80.00%, n= 64/80) and unemployed. The median number of children alive among the clients was 1(0-2), with about 37.5% of the participants being nulliparous. About 16.25% of the participants had had at least one previous termination of pregnancy. The prevalence of post-abortion contraceptive uptake was 97.5% (95%CI: 90.36% - 99.39%, N=78/80). More than half chose injectable contraceptive (53.85%, 95%CI: 42.60% - 64.71%, N= 42/78), followed by oral contraceptive pills (21.79%, 95%CI: 13.90% - 32.49% N= 17/78). We found no association between socio-demographic and reproductive characteristics, and contraceptive uptake among the abortion clients (p values >0.05). Conclusion the immediate post-abortion contraceptive uptake in our facility is very high. Majority of the clients accepted injectable contraceptives. The demographic and reproductive characteristics of our clients did not affect uptake of post-abortion contraception. More education is needed to improve uptake of other long-acting contraceptives that may not require frequent contact with the health facility.

Background: Access to family planning services is an important preventive strategy against maternal mortality as it can considerably reduce unintended pregnancies and prevent sequalae of unsafe abortion. We aimed to describe the sociodemographic and reproductive characteristics of abortion seekers and investigate factors associated with uptake of contraception following induced abortion at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa.Method: This study was a cross-sectional study among women who had legal termination of unwanted pregnancy at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH), from 1 January 2021 to July 2021. Questionnaires were administered to 80 consenting consecutive clientsafter undergoing induced abortion . Information on socio demographic and reproductive characteristics and pattern of contraceptive uptake of the respondents were obtained. Descriptive and bivariate analysis were conducted to determine the pattern and relationship of sociodemographic and reproductive characteristics and contraceptive uptake.Results:. The mean age of the 80 respondents was 25.6 ± 6.6 years, and the youngest and oldest respondents were 14 and 39 years respectively. Majority of the participants were of the Black race (96.25%, n= 77/80), single (90.00%, n= 72/80), of the Christian faith (80.00%, n= 64/80) and unemployedThe median number of children alive among the clients was 1(0-2), with about 37.5% of the participants being nulliparous. About 16.25% of the participants had had at least one previous termination of pregnancy.The prevalence of postabortion contraceptive uptake was 97.5% (95%CI: 90.36% - 99.39%, N=78/80). More than half chose injectable contraceptive (53.85%, 95%CI: 42.60% - 64.71%, N= 42/78), followed by Oral Contraceptive Pills (21.79%, 95%CI: 13.90% - 32.49% N= 17/78).We found no association between socio-demographic and reproductive characteristics, and contraceptive uptake among the abortion clients (p values >0.05).Conclusion: The immediate postabortion contraceptive uptake in our facility is very high. Majority of the clients accepted injectable contraceptives. The demographic and reproductive characteristics of our clients did not affect uptake of postabortion contraception. More education is needed to improve uptake of other long-acting contraception that may not require frequent contact with the health facility.