Knowledge and practices among medical abortion seekers in southeastern Nigeria

• Published in: Southeast Asian journal of tropical medicine and public health Vol. 43; no. 2; pp. 471 - 478
• Main Authors: Adinma, Echendu Dolly, Adinma, Joseph Ifeanyi Brian-D, Iwuoha, Chima, Akiode, Akinsewa, Oji, Ejike, Okoh, Matthew
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thailand Central Coordinating Board, SEAMEO-TROPMED Project 01.03.2012
• Subjects: Abortifacient Agents, Steroidal - therapeutic use; Abortion; Abortion, Induced - methods; Abortion, Induced - psychology; Adolescent; Adult; Age; Complications; Cross-Sectional Studies; Drugs; Education; Educational Status; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health Services Accessibility; Humans; Nigeria; Pregnancy; Public health; Reproduction; Socioeconomic Factors; Nigeria
• ISSN: 0125-1562

Nigeria has restrictive abortion laws; unsafe abortion and its complications are major public health challenges. Access to reproductive health services in Nigeria, including medical abortion, is poor. We determined the socio-demographic characteristics, patterns of abortion practices, and experiences of medical abortions among abortion seekers in southeastern Nigeria. We carried out a descriptive, cross sectional survey of 100 consecutive medical abortion seekers in southeastern Nigeria. Subjects had a mean age of 23.5 + 4.4 years. Fifty-five percent of respondents were students. Sixty-four percent had a secondary educational level, 33% had a tertiary education level and 3% had a primary educational level. Fifty-eight percent of subjects were ages 18-20 years at coitarche; 25% had one or more previous deliveries and 49% had a previous termination of pregnancy. Forty-eight percent had used drugs for pregnancy terminations. Drugs used for termination included quinine combined with other drugs in 8%; gynaecosid alone in 6%, gynaecosid combined with other drugs in 6% menstrogen combined with other drugs in 6% and an unclassified drug in 14%. Thirty-three percent of subjects purchased their abortion drugs in a pharmacy. Three percent, 2%, and 0% of subjects had a knowledge of misoprostol, mifepristone and methotrexate, respectively. One percent of respondents had used misoprostol. We detected serious information gaps regarding abortion and poor access to reproductive health services. There is a need for policies and program to bridge this gap, and a need for revision of the present Nigerian abortion law.