Histórias de aborto provocado entre adolescentes em Teresina, Piauí, Brasil

Abstract

This paper analyses the methods, techniques and support networks taken by adolescents to perform illegal abortions. It is a descriptive and cross-sectional study involving interviews with 30 adolescents who had been hospitalized for uterine curettage in two public hospitals in Teresina between June and November 2011. Informed consent was given orally, and the interviews were recorded after the confirmation of the induced abortion. The adolescents were between 14 and 17 years old, single, and predominantly lived with their parents in urban areas, had little schooling and recorded a gestational age of 12 weeks. Between 3 and 6 tablets of Cytotec were taken orally and/or vaginally by 28 (94%) adolescents, and they were rushed to the hospital due to severe cramping, vaginal bleeding or both. They either bought Cytotec alone (43%, 13), or with the help of a friend or partner (40%, 12). Cytotec was sold to them in ordinary pharmacies, by the owner (45%, 13) or clerk (55%, 55), who provided instructions for use. They went to the hospital with their mother (40%, 12) or a girl friend (30%, 9). Three (10%) adolescents developed serious complications. The study revealed that Cytotec is the main method used to perform illegal abortions among adolescents.

Fatores preditores do abortamento entre jovens com experiência obstétrica

“…Misoprostol and other drugs are the most referred methods, whereas the use of tea is associated with the attempt of normalizing menstrual cycle. In these cases, nonsignificant results may be explained by the fact that not all women recognize the use of teas and home preparations as abortifacient methods because they are integrated in their routines or are treated as contraceptive methods 8,22,31,32 . This study had some limitations; however, those limitations could not prevent the study from being conducted.…”

“…This may occur because the majority of women who have better purchasing power, and who can afford health insurances, or pay for the procedure, opt for private health-care services. However, it is worth mentioning that most research on abortion used as sample only portion of women hospitalized because of abortion complications, and women who seek for the Unified Health System, demonstrating the induction of common selection bias in these studies 22,32 . Second, the type of abortion (spontaneous or induced) was not identified because of the possibility of reducing selection bias.…”

Teratogen exposure and congenital ocular abnormalities in Brazilian patients with Möbius sequence

“…In North America, 50% of all pregnancies are unexpected or unplanned, and, in Brazil, a previous study reported that 48% of pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 39 use abortifacient drugs (3,27) . Misoprostol is the main method (94%) used to induce illegal abortions among adolescents in the State of Piauí (northeastern Brazil), and this drug was associated with herbal tea in one case (11) . In the current study, the majority of mothers (90.2%) of patients with Möbius sequence reported an unplanned pregnancy.…”

“…The use of abortive medications, such as misoprostol and certain herbal teas, are common in these countries (7,8) and are associated with congenital anomalies (7,(9)(10)(11) . Möbius sequence is a rare congenital disorder with an estimated prevalence in the general population of 1:500 to 1:5,000 newborns (7,12) .…”

“…In Brazil, as in other Latin American countries, misoprostol is the main drug used for abortions obtained through the black market (7,8,19,29) . The illegal commerce of misoprostol favors drug adulteration and increases the risk of subdosage, thus compromising the drug's efficacy (11,29) . It is very challenging to identify the specific teratogen that is responsible for a congenital abnormality, and women are frequently exposed to more than one teratogen during pregnancy (3,5) .…”