Demographic Profile, Causes and Methods of Induced Abortion in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Introduction: Induced abortions are those terminated by deliberate action undertaken to terminate a pregnancy. Information on the incidence of induced abortion is crucial for identifying policy and programmatic needs aimed at reducing unintended pregnancy. Because unsafe abortion is a cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, measures of its incidence are also important. This study aimed to analyze the sociodemographic characteristics of induced abortion. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The sample was composed of 50 women who underwent induced abortion in this hospital, between January 2022 and January 2023. A simple random sampling technique was used in this study. Data were collected using a data collection sheet, processed, and analyzed by SPSS. version 22. Data were presented in tables and pie charts. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Informed written consent was taken from the respondents. Result: In this study, most of the patients (25, 50%) were in the 25-30 years age group, followed by (18, 36%) 31-35 years age group, and (7, 14%) the rest were in >35 years age group, most people (30, 60%) resided in the urban areas and most of them (35, 70%) had a monthly income of <15000 BDT, followed by (10, 20%) 15000-20000 BDT. Respondents were mostly (25, 50%) uneducated, some of them (15, 30%) passed secondary school, and (10, 20%) higher secondary school. Most of the patients (18, 36%) in this study used the barrier method for contraception, followed by (16, 32%) withdrawal method. Regarding the cause of induced abortion, unplanned pregnancy was the prominent cause (16, 32%), followed by, inadequate income (12, 24%), and contraception failure (12, 24%). Conclusion: This study concluded that most of the patients aged between 25 to 30 years and most of them resided in urban areas having a low monthly income, and poor education level. Some prominent causes of induced abortion were unplanned pregnancy, inadequate income, and contraceptive failure.