Abstract
Available data indicate that the incidence of spontaneous and induced abortion is high in developing countries. This chapter describes the genetic and environmental causes of spontaneous abortion, and explains the reasons that women resort to induced abortion, including describing the prevalence of restrictive abortion laws in many developing countries. Induced abortion was divided into safe and unsafe categories, with unsafe abortion reported as more common in developing countries as compared to developing countries. We also present information indicating that unsafe abortion is a leading cause of maternal mortality in developing countries and its prevention one of the most important interventions needed to prevent maternal mortality in these countries.
We report the short- and long-term medical and social complications associated with unsafe abortion and identify ways for addressing them. This chapter concludes by explaining the various primary, secondary and tertiary preventive measures for reducing the incidence of unsafe abortion in developing countries. These include family planning, safe abortion care, post-abortion care, post-abortion family planning, the liberalisation of abortion laws and the socio-economic empowerment of women. Preventing unsafe abortion is one of the most important responsibilities of obstetricians and gynaecologists, and women have inalienable rights to safe abortion care based on choice.
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Okonofua, F. (2021). Abortion. In: Okonofua, F., Balogun, J.A., Odunsi, K., Chilaka, V.N. (eds) Contemporary Obstetrics and Gynecology for Developing Countries . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75385-6_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75385-6_5
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