Determinants of first and second trimester induced abortion - results from a cross-sectional study taken place 7 years after abortion law revisions in Ethiopia

Abstract

BackgroundIn 2005 Ethiopia took the important step to protect women’s reproductive health by liberalizing the abortion law. As a result women were given access to safe pregnancy termination in first and second trimester. This study aims to describe socio-economic characteristics and contraceptive experience among women seeking abortion in Jimma, Ethiopia and to describe determinants of second trimester abortion.MethodsA cross-sectional study conducted October 2011 - April 2012 in Jimma Town, Ethiopia among women having safely induced abortion and women having unsafely induced abortion. In all 808 safe abortion cases and 21 unsafe abortion cases were included in the study. Of the 829 abortions, 729 were first trimester and 100 were second trimester abortions. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to determine risk factors associated with second trimester abortion. The associations are presented as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidential intervals. Age stratified analyses of contraceptive experience among women with first and second trimester abortions are also presented.ResultsSocio-economic characteristics associated with increased ORs of second trimester abortion were: age < 19 years, being single, widowed or divorced, attending school, being unemployment, being nullipara or para 3+, and having low education. The contraceptive prevalence rate varied across age groups and was particularly low among young girls and young women experiencing second trimester abortion where only 15% and 19% stated they had ever used contraception.ConclusionYoung age, poor education and the prospect of single parenthood were associated with second trimester abortion. Young girls and young women were using contraception comparatively less often than older women. To ensure women full right to control their fertility in the setting studied, modern contraception should be made available, accessible and affordable for all women, regardless of age.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Induced Abortion Among Women of Reproductive Age Group in Gondar Town, Northwest Ethiopia

“…The odds of having induced abortion were forty five times greater for women with a single marital status compared with women of married marital status. This finding is in agreement with the study conducted in Gammbella Hospital [26], Dabat and Adet [20], Harar [24] and Jimma Ethiopia [28]. The possible explanation could be due to some single girls become pregnant from their spouse before marriage without knowing their parents so that fear of the family and the community predisposes them for committing induced abortion.…”

“…Women's age at first pregnancy 15-19 years werepositivelyassociatedwithinduced abortion. This finding is in line with the study conductedinHarar [24], Dabat and Adet [20], Jimma Hospital [25], Gammbella Hospital [26], Jimma Town [27], Guraghe Zone [6] and Jimma Ethiopia [28]. Younger women were more likely to commit induced abortions than older ones.…”

“…Pregnancy during attending school positively associated with committing induced abortion. This finding is similar to another study in Jimma, Ethiopia [28]. This may be related with their plan of ending their school before having child and other related factors.…”

Negotiating the social and medical dangers of abortion in Addis Ababa: An exploration of young, unmarried women's abortion-seeking journeys

“…The experiences of women in Ethiopia who have undergone unsafe abortion remain largely under-researched. This is particularly the case for young, unmarried women, who constitute a significant proportion of the women who undergo unsafe abortion (Bonnen, Tuijje, & Rasch, 2014;Geleto & Markos, 2015;Mulat, Bayu, Mellie, & Alemu, 2015) and whose experiences are at the centre of the present discussion. Considering the high number of unmarried, young women who undergo unsafe abortion procedures, and as argued by Coast and Murray, it is of vital importance to investigate women's routes to clandestine and medically unsafe abortion more closely (Coast & Murray, 2016).…”

Prevalence of Pregnancy Termination and Its Associated Factors Among Women of Reproductive Age Group in Ethiopia Using 2011 Ethiopian Demography and Health Survey, 2016

“…The similarity might be due to the same socio-economic status of study participants. On the other hand studies done in southern Ethiopia 2011, in Tigray, Ethiopia, 2015 and Tigray Northern Ethiopia, 2010 were found to be against the current finding [24][25][26]. In sub-Saharan Africa, women under age 25accounts for 60% of all unsafe abortions [27].…”