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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
medicine
The impact of age on the epidemiology of incomplete abortions in South Africa after legislative change
BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Volume 112, No. 3, Year 2005
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Description
Objective: In 1996 termination of pregnancy was legalised in South Africa. This article examines the impact of age on the epidemiology of incomplete abortion after legislative change. It draws comparison with the findings of a similar study undertaken in 1994. Design: Multicentre, prospective, descriptive study. Setting: Forty-seven public hospitals in all nine provinces. Sample: A stratified random sample of all hospitals treating gynaecological emergencies was drawn. All women of gestation under 22 weeks who presented with incomplete abortion during three weeks of data collection in 2000 were included. Methods: A data capture sheet completed by a clinician from the case notes. Main outcome measures: Demographic characteristics and clinical findings on admission by age of women. Results: Overall, there was a significant increase in the proportion of cases with no signs of infection on admission (from 79.5% to 90.1%) and a significant decrease in evidence of interference on evacuation (4.5% to 0.6%) between 1994 and 2000. Substantial age differentials were seen. Women over 30 were significantly less likely than those 21-30 years or under 21 to be low severity (65.5% vs 75.2% vs 76.4%, P = 0.0087) and more likely to have offensive products (16.3% vs 6.0% vs 6.4%, P = 0.01) than the younger women. Conclusions: Legalisation of abortion had an immediate positive impact on morbidity, especially in younger women. This is an important change as teenagers had the highest morbidity in 1994. The trend is supported by evidence from the 1999-2001 Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths, which further suggested that abortion mortality dropped by more than 90% since 1994. © RCOG 2004.
Authors & Co-Authors
Jewkes, R. K.
South Africa, Tygerberg
South African Medical Research Council
Rees, Helen V.
South Africa, Johannesburg
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital
Dickson, Kim Eva
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of the Witwatersrand
Brown, H. C.
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of the Witwatersrand
Levin, Jonathan B.
South Africa, Tygerberg
South African Medical Research Council
Statistics
Citations: 113
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1111/j.1471-0528.2004.00422.x
ISSN:
14700328
Research Areas
Maternal And Child Health
Sexual And Reproductive Health
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Cohort Study
Grounded Theory
Study Locations
South Africa
Participants Gender
Female