Risks and costs of illegally induced abortion in Bangladesh

Abstract

This article reports on women admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for incomplete, illegally induced abortion. Women with low complication rates more often had abortions induced by medical practitioners. These women were younger, of lower parity and better educated than women having abortions initiated by other practitioners. Poorly educated women from slum areas almost always had an abortion induced by a non-medical practitioner through the insertion of a solid object. These women experienced high complication rates and often required hysterectomies. This group also had high mortality rates. The drain on hospital resources needed to treat these abortion patients was great.

Types of Abortion and Its Consequences in Dhaka Medical College Hospital

“…This agrees with earlier reports that abortion related cases constitute a large share of the total gynaecological admissions in the teaching hospitals in Bangladesh. 7 Seventy-seven percent of all the cases were spontaneous and 23% induced abortion. About two-thirds (66%) of the abortion cases were incomplete abortion which is almost comparable to an earlier report of 74% incomplete abortion from Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.…”

“…6 One-quarter of all pregnancy-related deaths are caused by illegally induced abortion. 7 Of the admitted cases with acute morbidity, >50% were admitted due to abortion. 8 Total patients admitted in Gynaecological unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital during the year 2002 were 2736; of them, 1300(47.5%) cases were complications of abortion.…”