A 10 Year Review of Unsafe Abortion in a Tertiary Hospital in North-Central Nigeria
Abstract
Background: Every year, worldwide, about 42 million women with unintended pregnancies choose abortion, and nearly half of these procedures are unsafe. Complications of induced unsafe abortion remains high in developing countries and among the leading causes of maternal mortality, especially in Nigeria where abortion law is restrictive.
Objective: To determine the prevalence of maternal mortality from unsafe abortion at the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi.
Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study of cases of induced unsafe abortion managed at FMC, Makurdi from 1st January, 2011 to 31st December, 2020. Data was collected using a pre-designed proforma. Data was analyzed and results were presented in tables and chart.
Results: The prevalence of induced unsafe abortion was 17.3% of all gynecological admissions during the period under review. The induced unsafe abortion constituted 25.1% of all maternal mortality during the study period and a case fatality rate of 6.1%. The women mostly affected were teenagers (40.9%); single women (51.2%), and nulliparous women (62.9%). Chemist/Pharmacy units were responsible in 51.0% of the abortions whereas abortions performed in Clinics stood at 29.4% of cases. The most common complications were sepsis (27.1%) and hemorrhage (26.9%). The commonest causes of death were sepsis (36.6%), hemorrhage (28.0%) and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulopathy (20.7%).
Conclusion: Complications of induced abortion remains a significant cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in Benue State. There is a need to stop this problem by improving the reproductive health system in Nigeria.
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