A six month prospective study on different aspects of abortion.

A six month prospective study on various aspects of abortion was conducted from April 1, 1991 to Sept. 30, 1991 in Sidamo Regional Hospital (Yirgalem). A total of 185 cases of abortion were seen. Of these, 64 (35%) were induced and 121 (65%) were spontaneous. There were 2 deaths in the illegally induced group abortion, 1 death in the other group. Induced abortion was higher in age group 20-24 (61%), single (65%), unemployed (70%), nulliparous (48%) and 7-12 grade educational level (67%). The pregnancy was unwanted in all cases of induced abortion and in 50 (41%) of the spontaneous cases. The common instruments used for inducing abortion were plastic catheters (58%) and metallic instruments (32%). The abortionists were mainly health workers (55%). The mean hospital stay was 6.3 days for illegally induced and 2.1 days for spontaneous abortions. The incidence of septic abortion was found to be statistically significantly higher in induced than in spontaneous abortion (p < 0.001) while haemorrhagic shock was not (p > 0.05). The type of anaesthesia and required procedure are also analyzed in this study. Eighty-eight percent of the study population did not use any type of contraception. The role of contraception in preventing unwanted pregnancy and therefore induced abortion is discussed.