TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding abortion-related complications in health facilities
T2 - Results from WHO multicountry survey on abortion (MCS-A) across 11 sub-Saharan African countries
AU - Qureshi, Zahida
AU - Mehrtash, Hedieh
AU - Kouanda, Seni
AU - Griffin, Sally
AU - Filippi, Veronique
AU - Govule, Philip
AU - Thwin, Soe Soe
AU - Bello, Folasade Adenike
AU - Gadama, Luis
AU - Msusa, Ausbert Thoko
AU - Idi, Nafiou
AU - Goufodji, Sourou
AU - Kim, Caron Rahn
AU - Wolomby-Molondo, Jean Jose
AU - Mugerwa, Kidza Yvonne
AU - Bique, Cassimo
AU - Adanu, Richard
AU - Fawole, Bukola
AU - Madjadoum, Thierry
AU - Gülmezoglu, Ahmet Metin
AU - Ganatra, Bela
AU - Tuncąlp, Özge
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.
PY - 2021/1/29
Y1 - 2021/1/29
N2 - Introduction Complications due to unsafe abortions are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in many sub-Saharan African countries. We aimed to characterise abortion-related complication severity, describe their management, and to report women's experience of abortion care in Africa. Methods A cross-sectional study was implemented in 210 health facilities across 11 sub-Saharan African countries. Data were collected on women's characteristics, clinical information and women's experience of abortion care (using the audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI) system). Severity of abortion complications were organised in five hierarchical mutually exclusive categories based on indicators present at assessment. Descriptive bivariate analysis was performed for women's characteristics, management of complications and reported experiences of abortion care by severity. Generalised linear estimation models were used to assess the association between women's characteristics and severity of complications. Results There were 13 657 women who had an abortion-related complication: 323 (2.4%) women were classified with severe maternal outcomes, 957 (7.0%) had potentially life-threatening complications, 7953 (58.2%) had moderate complications and 4424 (32.4%) women had mild complications. Women who were single, multiparous, presenting ≥13 weeks of gestational age and where expulsion of products of conception occurred prior to arrival to facility were more likely to experience severe complications. For management, the commonly used mechanical methods of uterine evacuation were manual vacuum aspiration (76.9%), followed by dilation and curettage (D&C) (20.1%). Most frequently used uterotonics were oxytocin (50â 9%) and misoprostol (22.7%). Via ACASI, 602 (19.5%) women reported having an induced abortion. Of those, misoprostol was the most commonly reported method (54.3%). Conclusion There is a critical need to increase access to and quality of evidence-based safe abortion, postabortion care and to improve understanding around women's experiences of abortion care.
AB - Introduction Complications due to unsafe abortions are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in many sub-Saharan African countries. We aimed to characterise abortion-related complication severity, describe their management, and to report women's experience of abortion care in Africa. Methods A cross-sectional study was implemented in 210 health facilities across 11 sub-Saharan African countries. Data were collected on women's characteristics, clinical information and women's experience of abortion care (using the audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI) system). Severity of abortion complications were organised in five hierarchical mutually exclusive categories based on indicators present at assessment. Descriptive bivariate analysis was performed for women's characteristics, management of complications and reported experiences of abortion care by severity. Generalised linear estimation models were used to assess the association between women's characteristics and severity of complications. Results There were 13 657 women who had an abortion-related complication: 323 (2.4%) women were classified with severe maternal outcomes, 957 (7.0%) had potentially life-threatening complications, 7953 (58.2%) had moderate complications and 4424 (32.4%) women had mild complications. Women who were single, multiparous, presenting ≥13 weeks of gestational age and where expulsion of products of conception occurred prior to arrival to facility were more likely to experience severe complications. For management, the commonly used mechanical methods of uterine evacuation were manual vacuum aspiration (76.9%), followed by dilation and curettage (D&C) (20.1%). Most frequently used uterotonics were oxytocin (50â 9%) and misoprostol (22.7%). Via ACASI, 602 (19.5%) women reported having an induced abortion. Of those, misoprostol was the most commonly reported method (54.3%). Conclusion There is a critical need to increase access to and quality of evidence-based safe abortion, postabortion care and to improve understanding around women's experiences of abortion care.
KW - cross-sectional survey
KW - epidemiology
KW - obstetrics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85100591222&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003702
DO - 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003702
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85100591222
SN - 2059-7908
VL - 6
JO - BMJ Global Health
JF - BMJ Global Health
IS - 1
M1 - 3702
ER -