SAFETY OF THE TREATMENT FOR VOLUNTARY PREGNANCY TERMINATION BY GESTATIONAL AGE. MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA, 2013-2014

• Published in: Revista colombiana de obstetricia y ginecología Vol. 70; no. 3; pp. 174 - 180
• Main Authors: Restrepo-Bernal, Diana Patricia, Colonia-Toro, Alejandro, Duque-Giraldo, Marle Isabel, Hoyos-Zuluaga, Catalina, Cruz-Osorio, Vanessa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Colombia 01.09.2019
• Subjects: Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal - administration & dosage; Abortion, Induced - adverse effects; Abortion, Induced - methods; Adolescent; Adult; Cohort Studies; Colombia; Dilatation and Curettage - methods; Female; Gestational Age; Humans; Misoprostol - administration & dosage; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Trimester, Second; Vacuum Curettage - methods; Young Adult; Colombia; anomalías congénitas; abuso sexual; congenital abnormalities; mental health; high risk pregnancy; aborto terapéutico; salud mental; Therapeutic abortion; embarazo de alto riesgo; sexual abuse
• ISSN: 2463-0225
• DOI: 10.18597/rcog.3267

To describe the safety of medical and surgical treatments used in women seeking voluntary pregnancy termination. Historical cohort of all pregnant women with up to 26 weeks of gestation who received treatment for voluntary pregnancy termination in a referral institution in Medellín, Colombia, between January 2013 and December 2014.Sampling was consecutive. Measured variables included sociodemographic and obstetric variables, undesired effects, and complications of the voluntary pregnancy termination treatment. A descriptive analysis was carried out. Overall, 87 women were included. The mean age at the time of termination was 24 years (inter-quartile range [IQR] = 12), 69.0% were single, and 73,4% were unemployed. The main reason for termination was the risk to the mother's health in 61,0% of cases, followed by a history of sexual violence in 26.4% and fetal malformations in 12.6%; a total of 70 women (80,4%) had less than 18 weeks of gestation and were treated with misoprostol plus manual vacuum aspiration; 17 (19,6%) had between 18 and 26 weeks of gestation and were treated with misoprostol followed by dilation and curettage. The first group (gestational age <18 weeks) experienced undesired effects such as pain and vomiting; in the second group (> or equal to 18 weeks), 41.0% of the women experienced hemorrhage. The risk to the mother's health was the main reason for the termination of pregnancy. Termination before 18 weeks was found to be safe, while termination between 18 and 26 weeks using misoprostol and curettage was associated with a high frequency of hemorrhage.