STUDY OF ABORTION AT FARAH MATERNITY HOSPITAL

Abstract

This study on abortion was carried out at Farah Maternity Hospital on the basis of : 1) the total admission recorded between 1960-1967 and 2) an interview questionnaire on 1009 women who had been referred for complications of termination of pregnancy, induced or spontaneous , between October 1968 and March 1969.There was an increase of 33.2% in admission for deliveries and 28.6% for abortions. The apparent increase in admission signifies a greater use of hospital facilities for deliveries; whiles the increase in admission for abortion, though not as high as the admission for delivery, still may be an indication of a trend towards more use of abortion for unwanted pregnancies. The percentage of abortions in this study ranged between 11-17% but it is about 15% for recent years. The increasing rate of abortion after the year 1966 (the beginning year of the family planning program) shows that this program has not yet been very effective in preventing unwanted pregnancies in the lower socioeconomic groups.