Prevalence and correlates of induced abortion: results of a facility-based cross-sectional survey of parturient women living with HIV in South Africa

Abstract

Background There is a paucity of studies examining the prevalence and correlates of induced abortion among women living with HIV. Our study fills this gap by examining the prevalence and correlates of induced abortion among parturient women living with HIV in Eastern Cape, South Africa. Methods We analysed cross-sectional survey data of the East London Prospective Cohort Study, which took place between September 2015 and May 2016 in three large maternity facilities in the Buffalo/Amathole districts of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. A total of 1709 parturient women living with HIV who gave birth over the study period were recruited. We carried out descriptive and inferential statistics. Results The prevalence of induced abortion was 19% (95% CI: 17.2–20.9%), but varied by women’s socio-demographic characteristics. Induced abortion prevalence was higher among women aged 25 years and over (21.4%), than among women aged less than 25 years (11.0%). Those ever married or cohabiting (26.8%) reported a higher level of induced abortion than those never-married women (15.6%). Those already diagnosed HIV positive before their index pregnancy (20.2%) had a higher prevalence of induced abortion than those diagnosed during their index pregnancy (14.1%). In the adjusted logistic regression, women were more likely to have ever induced abortion if they were ever married or cohabiting (aOR; 1.86 95% CI; 1.43–2.41), ever smoked (aOR: 1.51; 95% CI: 1.01–2.28) and diagnosed with HIV before their index pregnancy (aOR:1.44; 95% CI: 1.02–2.05) but less likely if younger than 25 years (aOR; 0.51 95% CI:0.35–0.73). Conclusion About one in five women living with HIV had ever induced abortion in the study settings, indicating that abortion service is one of the main reproductive health services needed by women living with HIV in South Africa. This is an indication that the need for abortion is somewhat high in this group of women. The finding, therefore, highlights the need for concerted efforts from all stakeholders to address the unmet need for contraception among women living with HIV to prevent unintended pregnancy.

Factors Influencing Unsafe Abortion Decision-Making Among Young Women in an Abortion-Restricted Setting

“…Unsafe abortion poses a serious risk to adolescents, especially compared to much older women. Yet, a study conducted in Ghana indicated that adolescents face barriers such as stigma when accessing the country's abortion services, where healthcare providers serve as gatekeepers to abortion services [21]. In the context of our study, no abortion-on-demand services are permitted or offered.…”

Induced abortion in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Women who used drugs or alcohol were significantly more likely to have an induced abortion (AOR = 2.72, 95% CI: 1.38–5.34) ( Fig 9 ). The four included studies [ 24 , 31 , 38 , 55 ] showed moderate heterogeneity, and Egger’s tests for the small study effect revealed a significant small study effect and the presence of publication bias (p = 0.029). As a result, a trim-and-fill analysis for substance usage was carried out in order to lessen and correct the research’s apparent publication bias.…”

Association of induced abortion with bipolar disorder and major depression from the UK Biobank: A Propensity Score Matching and Weighting Analysis

“…For most pregnant women, the choice of induced abortion will undoubtedly cause some harm to the body. According to some studies, induced abortion may cause genital infection, depression anxiety, and other situations, and it can also cause diseases such as breast cancer [18][19][20]39] . Our study utilized UK biobank recorded information on induced abortion in British women as well as bipolar disorder and major depression, After the results of the multivariate regression analysis based on the inverse probability weighting and the propensity score matching, We found that induced abortion was an independent risk factor for bipolar affective disorder and major depression.…”