Induced abortion; a continuing tragedy

Background: Induced abortion remains one of the gravest problems associated with women’s reproductive health in Nigeria. Induced abortion is commonly practiced in Nigeria with a prevalence ranging from 25-53% amongst adolescents in schools and 88-94% amongst out of school single women. It is a major contributor to maternal mortality and serious morbidity in Nigeria Objectives: The objectives of this review were to assess the socio-demographic characteristics of patients that procure induced abortions, determine the gestational age at which these abortions occurred, as well as to determine common complications associated with induced abortions Methods: This was a retrospective study of induced abortions that were seen at the Gynaecology Emergency unit of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos Nigeria between January 2001 and December 2003. The data were retrieved from the medical records department and analyzed using Epi-info version 3.2.2. Results: The mean age of the women was 22.1years (range 14-45years). More than half, 41 (56%) had secondary school education. Seventy five percent (54) of the patients were unmarried. Fifty four percent (39) of the patients were students. Doctors in private hospitals procured majority (34.7%) of the abortions. Retained products of conception, pelvic abscess, uterine perforation and gut injury were the common complications encountered. There were 4 mortalities in the study giving a mortality rate of 5.6%. Conclusion: Single and none working women were more likely to have induced abortions. The common complications following these procedures were retained products of conception, sepsis, gut injury, and maternal death.Key Words: Induced Abortion, single women, retained products of conception, Jos University Teaching Hospital