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Risks and costs of illegally induced abortion in Bangladesh

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

A. R. Khan
Affiliation:
Population Planning Section, Planning Commission
S. F. Begum
Affiliation:
Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
D. L. Covington
Affiliation:
Family Health International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
B. Janowitz
Affiliation:
Family Health International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
S. James
Affiliation:
Family Health International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
M. Potts
Affiliation:
Family Health International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

Summary

This article reports on women admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for incomplete, illegally induced abortion. Women with low complication rates more often had abortions induced by medical practitioners. These women were younger, of lower parity and better educated than women having abortions initiated by other practitioners. Poorly educated women from slum areas almost always had an abortion induced by a non-medical practitioner through the insertion of a solid object. These women experienced high complication rates and often required hysterectomies. This group also had high mortality rates. The drain on hospital resources needed to treat these abortion patients was great.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

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