Risk factors and outcome of illegal abortion

Abstract

This descriptive comparative study of a sample of 260 women aged 18 to 45 years, admitted to Teaching Hospital, Jaffna with abortion (69 illegal 191 spontaneous abortions), during the period of 1st of April 2002 to 31st of March 2003. Study was planned with the objectives of describing the risk factors and outcome of illegal abortion by comparing them with spontaneous abortions. The instrument used for data collection was an interviewer administered, precoded, structured questionnaire. The study revealed that there is significant difference in risk factors between two groups (illegal and spontaneous abortion) in the categories of monthly income (P=0.008), age (P=0.04), parity (P=0.001), age of last child (P=0.001), period of amenorrhea (P=0.001) and number of living children (P-0.001). Similarly there is significant difference in outcome between two groups in the categories of time interval between onset admission (P=0.001), duration of hospital stay (P=0.001), amount of blood transfused (P=0.02), necessity for surgical intervention (P=0.001) and immediate complication (P=0.001). It recommends that all mothers, who are on risk for illegal abortion, should be identified and managed appropriately if illegal abortion occurred in the contest of "safe the motherhood".