Women’s Health Bulletin

Current Issue

By Issue

By Author

By Subject

Author Index

Keyword Index

About Journal

Aims and Scope

Editorial Board

Publication Ethics

Authorship Rules and Regulations

Indexing and Abstracting

Peer Review Process

Forms

Investigation of the Prevalence of Induced Abortions, Spontaneous Abortions, and Cases of Forensic Medicine Referrals Based on Demographic Characteristics

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Community Based Psychiatric Care Research Center, Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

2 Department of Midwifery, Maternal –fetal medicine Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

3 Maternal –fetal Medicine Research Center, Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

Background: Induced and unhealthy abortions exist worldwide, especially in developing countries. Awareness of the prevalence of abortion in the community can be an indirect measure of maternal health status. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of induced (forensic medicine referrals and obstetric indications) and spontaneous abortions based on demographic characteristics in 2018.
Methods: This epidemiologic-cross-sectional study was conducted in the hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2018. Out of 5848 pregnant women, 437 cases of abortion were diagnosed within 3 months, making up the sample size. Data were collected using a researcher-made demographic questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, percentage, and so forth).
Results: The overall prevalence of abortion in this study was 7.46%. The highest prevalence was observed in induced abortion with other causes (4.17%), followed by induced abortion with a forensic medicine letter (1.5%), and spontaneous abortion (1.79%), respectively. The highest frequency of induced abortion was found in the age group 30-34 (34.3%) and in housewives (76.2%). The highest frequency of education was high school belonging to mothers with spontaneous abortion (53.3%). There was a statistically significant difference among the variables of age, mother’s education, age, spouse’s occupation, and type of abortion (P≤0.05).
Conclusions: The prevalence of abortion was 7.46%, two thirds of which were abortion induced by other causes (55.8%). In addition to group education, health educators should plan effective methods of face-to-face and individual counseling to change mothers’ attitudes and inform them of the consequences of abortion.

Keywords

References
1. Cunningham FG, Leveno KJ, Bloom SL, Dashe JS, Hoffman BL, Casey BM, et al. Williams Obstetrics. 25th ed. McGraw Hill Education; 2018. ## 2. Hamama L, Rauch SA, Sperlich M, Defever E, Seng JS. Previous experience of spontaneous or elective abortion and risk for posttraumatic stress and depression during subsequent pregnancy. Depress Anxiety. 2010;27 (8):699-707. doi: 10.1002/da.20714. [PubMed: 20577979]. [PubMed Central: PMC2939862]. ## 3. Jatlaoui TC, Shah J, Mandel MG, Krashin JW, Suchdev DB, Jamieson DJ, et al. Abortion Surveillance - United States, 2014. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2018;66 (25):1-44. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.ss6625a1. [PubMed: 30462631]. [PubMed Central: PMC6290801]. ## 4. Sedgh G, Sylla AH, Philbin J, Keogh S, Ndiaye S. Estimates of the incidence of induced abortion and consequences of unsafe abortion in Senegal. Int Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2015;41 (1):11-9. doi: 10.1363/4101115. [PubMed: 25856233]. [PubMed Central: PMC4712915]. ## 5. Sathar Z, Singh S, Rashida G, Shah Z, Niazi R. Induced abortions and unintended pregnancies in Pakistan. Stud Fam Plann. 2014;45 (4):471-91. doi: 10.1111/j.1728-4465.2014.00004.x. [PubMed: 25469930]. [PubMed Central: PMC4734376]. ## 6. Motavalli R, Alizadeh L, Namadi vosoughi M, Shahbazzadegan S. Evaluation of the prevalence, reasons and consequences of induced abortion in women of Ardabil in 2011. Journal of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences. 2012;12 (4):384-91. Persian. ## 7. Erfani A, Shojaei J. New Evidence on Induced Abortion in Tehran, Iran: Rates, Causes, and Changes. Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility. 2018;21 (3):64-77. doi: 10.22038/IJOGI.2018.11065. ## 8. Shahbazi S. The consequences of unsafe abortion: a qualitative study. J Adv Nurs. 2012;68 (6):1247-55. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2011.05826.x. [PubMed: 21851383]. ## 9. Abalovich M, Gutierrez S, Alcaraz G, Maccallini G, Garcia A, Levalle O. Overt and subclinical hypothyroidism complicating pregnancy. Thyroid. 2002;12 (1):63-8. doi: 10.1089/105072502753451986. [PubMed: 11838732]. ## 10. Moore AM, Gebrehiwot Y, Fetters T, Wado YD, Bankole A, Singh S, et al. The Estimated Incidence of Induced Abortion in Ethiopia, 2014: Changes in the Provision of Services Since 2008. Int Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2016;42 (3):111-120. doi: 10.1363/42e1816. [PubMed: 28825902]. [PubMed Central: PMC5568682]. ## 11. Kant S, Srivastava R, Rai SK, Misra P, Charlette L, Pandav CS. Induced abortion in villages of Ballabgarh HDSS: rates, trends, causes and determinants. Reprod Health. 2015;12:51. doi: 10.1186/s12978-015-0040-9.[PubMed: 26021473]. [PubMed Central: PMC4460773]. ## 12. Basinga P, Moore AM, Singh SD, Carlin EE, Birungi F, Ngabo F. Abortion incidence and postabortion care in Rwanda. Stud Fam Plann. 2012;43 (1):11-20. doi: 10.1111/j.1728-4465.2012.00298.x. [PubMed: 23185868]. ## 13. Llorente-Marrón M, Díaz-Fernández M, Méndez-Rodríguez P. Contextual determinants of induced abortion: a panel analysis. Rev Saude Publica. 2016;50:8. doi: 10.1590/S1518-8787.2016050005917. [PubMed: 27007684]. [PubMed Central: PMC4794768]. ## 14. Fan X, Wang W, Liu R, Dang S, Kang Y. [Epidemiological features and risk factors of spontaneous abortion among rural Tibetan women at childbearing age]. Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi. 2014;35 (4):401-5. [PubMed: 25009029]. Chinese. ## 15. Zhou LY, Zhang HX, Lan YL, Li Y, Liang Y, Yu L, et al. Epidemiological investigation of risk factors of the pregnant women with early spontaneous abortion in Beijing. Chin J Integr Med. 2017;23 (5):345-9. doi: 10.1007/s11655-015-2144-z. [PubMed: 25877464]. ## 16. Dastgiri S, Yoosefian M, Garjani M, Kalankesh LR. Induced Abortion: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Mater Sociomed. 2017;29 (1):58-67. doi: 10.5455/msm.2017.29.58-67. [PubMed: 28484357]. [PubMed Central: PMC5402385]. ## 17. Jalali R, Mohammadi M, Vaisi-Raygani A, Ghobadi A, Salari N. Prevalence of unwanted pregnancy in Iranian women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Reprod Health. 2019;16 (1):133. doi: 10.1186/s12978-019-0804-8. [PubMed: 31484563]. [PubMed Central: PMC6727578]. ## 18. Celis K, Kantol J, Waylen G, Weldon L. Introduction: Gender and Politics: A Gendered World, a Gendered Discipline. In: Waylen G, Celis K, editors. The Oxford Handbook of Gender and Politics. New York: Oxford University Press; 2013. p. 1–26. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199751457.013.0034. ## 19. Agha YHT, Mehr YAH. Estimation of induced abortion rates in Iran: Application of proximate determinants model. Journal of Populaton Association of Iran. 2007;3 (31):61-91. Persian. ## 20. Majlessi F, Forooshani A, Shariat M. Prevalence of induced abortion and associated complications in women attending hospitals in Isfahan. East Mediterr Health J. 2008;14 (1):103-9. [PubMed: 18557457]. ## 21. Tsui AO, McDonald-Mosley R, Burke AE. Family planning and the burden of unintended pregnancies. Epidemiol Rev. 2010;32:152-74. doi: 10.1093/epirev/mxq012. [PubMed: 20570955]. [PubMed Central: PMC3115338]. ## 22. Palomino N, Padilla MR, Talledo BD, Mazuelos CG, Carda J, Bayer AM. The social constructions of unwanted pregnancy and abortion in Lima, Peru. Glob Public Health. 2011;6:S73-89. doi: 10.1080/17441692.2011.590813. [PubMed: 21732707]. ## 23. Santos AP, Coelho Ede A, Gusmão ME, Silva DO, Marques PF, Almeida MS. Factors Associated with Abortion in Women of Reproductive Age. Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet. 2016;38 (6):273-9. doi: 10.1055/s-0036-1584940. [PubMed: 27399921]. ## 24. Elders M. Contraceptive availability to adolescents: do American values violate our most vulnerable? Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2008;84 (6):741-5. doi: 10.1038/clpt.2008.178. [PubMed: 18800038 ]. ## 25. Hosseini H, Erfani A, Nojomi M. Factors Associated with Incidence of Induced Abortion in Hamedan, Iran. Arch Iran Med. 2017;20 (5):282-287. doi: 0172005/AIM.005. [PubMed: 28510463]. ## 26. Erfani A. Induced abortion in Tehran, Iran: estimated rates and correlates. Int Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2011;37 (3):134-42. doi: 10.1363/3713411. [PubMed: 21988789]. ## 27. Godrati F, Saadatmand N, Dinpazhoh M, Akbarzadeh M. Epidemiological Study of Legal Abortion due to Fetal Defects in the Files Referred to Fars Province Forensic Medicine Centers from 2007 to 2013. Shiraz E-Med J. 2016;17 (11):e40023. doi: 10.17795/semj40023. ## 28. Fallahian M, Mohammad-Zadeh F. Trends in abortion in Iran: 1994-2002. Arch Iran Med. 2005;8 (3):217-8. ## 29. Zheng D, Li C, Wu T, Tang K. Factors associated with spontaneous abortion: a cross-sectional study of Chinese populations. Reprod Health. 2017;14 (1):33. doi: 10.1186/s12978-017-0297-2. [PubMed: 28259178]. [PubMed Central: PMC5336639]. ## 30. Zamanian M, Baneshi MR, Haghdoost A, Zolala F. Estimating the visibility rate of abortion: a case study of Kerman, Iran. BMJ Open. 2016;6 (10):e012761. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012761. [PubMed: 27737886]. [PubMed Central: PMC5073643]. ## 31. Okereke C. Assessing the prevalence and determinants of adolescents’ unintended pregnancy and induced abortion in Owerri, Nigeria. J Biosoc Sci. 2010;42 (5):619-32. doi: 10.1017/S0021932010000179. [PubMed: 20522271]. ## 32. Ranji A. Induced abortion in Iran: prevalence, reasons, and consequences. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2012;57 (5):482-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1542-2011.2012.00159.x. [PubMed: 22954079]. ## 33. Adhikari R. Demographic, socio-economic, and cultural factors affecting fertility differentials in Nepal. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2010;10:19. doi: 10.1186/1471-2393-10-19. [PubMed: 20426863]. [PubMed Central: PMC2885993]. ## 34. Hajizadeh Bandeghara F, Jannesari S, Ozgoli G, Nasiri M. Positive effect of woman’s empowerment on childbearing: more children in working woman. Iran J Obstet Gynecol Infertil. 2017;19 (37):51-61. Persian. ## 35. Rad F, Savabi H. Investigation on Tendency to Fertility and its Related Social Factors (A Case Study of Married Women Aged 15 to 50 in Tabriz). Woman and Family Studies. 2015;3 (1):127-155. doi: 10.22051/jwfs.2015.2199. ##
Women’s Health Bulletin
Volume 7, Issue 1 - Serial Number 24
January 2020
Pages 31-38
Files
Share
How to cite
Statistics