Factors associated with Adolescent Abortion

Adolescents’ girls are at high risk for having an abortion. This study examines levels and trends in abortion among adolescent girls. Both bivariate and multivariate techniques of analysis were used. We also used qualitative information derived from in-depth interviews with adolescents. The incidence of abortion was 35 times higher for unmarried than for married adolescents. Abortion ratios were also higher for adolescents who were <18 years old and for those with more than primary education. A little less than half of the abortions were induced by biomedical health workers (by means of menstrual regulation) which means that traditional providers fulfilled an important function in this rural area. The findings suggest that high-quality abortion services provided to adolescents in the framework of comprehensive reproductive health services will help to lower abortions in general and of unsafe abortions provided by traditional providers in particular.

Reference:

Kapil Ahmed, M., Van Ginneken, J., & Razzaque, A. (2005). Factors associated with adolescent abortion in a rural area of Bangladesh. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 10(2), 198-205.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-3156.2004.01362.x/full