The relationship between sociodemographic factors and reporting having terminated a pregnancy among Ghanaian women: a population-based study

Assessment of socio demographic factors on termination of pregnancy in Ghana

AIM

Assessing the socio-demographic factors on termination of pregnancy in Ghana.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study, using data source from the Demographic Health Survey (DHS).

METHODS

Data pooled from the most recent DHS conducted in Ghana, with variables of interest with rural and urban population coverage. A systematic search of the literature was performed using PubMed, Google Scholar and Elsevier PubMed for the secondary data. Descriptive and logistic regression analysis was performed using Python Pandas' software to estimate the independent effects of the socio-demographic factors on termination of pregnancy in Ghana.

RESULTS

Reported using odds and adjusted OR AOR at 95% confidence level and statistical significance at a p-value of (p > 0.05). Age, place of residence, occupation, currently pregnant, woman's individual sample weight, completeness of current pregnancy, living children + current pregnancy, ethnicity and number of living children significantly predicted the outcome variable.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Nurses have an important role to play in providing support, education and counselling to people, and must be equipped with the knowledge and skills (including non-judgmental and compassionate care) necessary to provide care that is sensitive to the diverse needs of people from different socio-demographic backgrounds.

Bayesian spatial analysis of socio-demographic factors influencing pregnancy termination and its residual geographic variation among ever-married women of reproductive age in Bangladesh

BACKGROUND

Unsafe pregnancy termination is a major public health concern among reproductive-aged women in many developing countries. This study evaluated the socio-demographic characteristics, as well as residual spatial correlation in pregnancy termination among Bangladeshi women.

METHODS

Secondary data was obtained from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey for the survey year 2014. Data included 17,863 samples of ever-married women between the ages of 15-49 years, which is a national representative sample in Bangladesh. Bayesian spatial logistic regression was used to assess the associations between socio-demographic characteristics and pregnancy termination. We flexibly modeled the non-linear effects of the continuous covariates while accounting for residual spatial correlation at the district level.

RESULTS

Our findings revealed that about 19% of the respondents in Bangladesh reported ever had a pregnancy terminated. The risk of pregnancy termination was higher among women who had been working, had a higher wealth index, were in a conjugal relationship, had no children, were older and started their cohabitation earlier. Residual spatial patterns revealed the areas at a higher risk of pregnancy termination, including Panchagarh, Habiganj, and Sylhet after adjusting for covariates.

CONCLUSIONS

Prevalence of pregnancy termination remains considerably high in Bangladesh. The study revealed significant associations of women's age at survey time, age at first cohabitation, occupational status, socio-economic status, marital status and the total number of children ever born with reporting having a history of terminated pregnancy among Bangladeshi ever-married women. The identified socio-demographic characteristics and districts at an increased likelihood of pregnancy termination can inform localized intervention and prevention strategies to improve the reproductive healthcare of women in Bangladesh.

Factors associated with induced abortion among women of reproductive age attending selected health facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a case control study

Background

There has been a significant reduction of abortion rates in high-income countries, while the rates remain unchanged in low- and middle-income countries. In Ethiopia, for example, the number of women of reproductive age seeking an induced abortion is increasing. However, there is limited information concerning the reasons why the occurrence of this procedure is increasing. Thus, this study aimed to identify factors associated with having induced abortion in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods

An unmatched case-control study was conducted using a semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire from October to December 2017. The cases were 147 women of reproductive age who underwent abortion in a health facility or presented with complications due to induced abortion conducted outside the health facility. The controls were 295 women who came for antenatal care and who reported never having had an induced abortion. The cases were selected by consecutive sampling from nine health facilities, whereas the controls were selected by systematic sampling from the same health facilities. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were employed using STATA version 14 to identify factors associated with induced abortion.

Results

The mean age of cases was 26.5 ± 5.7 years, while for the controls it was 28.1 ± 4.8 years. Being unmarried (AOR = 9.6; 95% CI: 1.5–61.7), having primary (AOR = 5.3; 95% CI: 1.5–18.3) and tertiary (AOR = 5.7; 95% CI: 1.6–21.1) education, earning monthly income 100–300 USD (AOR = 0.2; 95% CI: 0.1–0.4) and >  300 USD (AOR = 0.1; 95% CI: 0.0–0.2), initiating first intercourse between ages of 15 and 19 (AOR = 4.7; 95% CI: 1.4–15.6), marrying before the age of 18 (AOR = 2.9; 95% CI: 1.3–6.7), and having two children (AOR = 4.7; 95% CI: 1.8–12.7) were independent predictors of induced abortion.

Conclusion

Family planning programs hoping to reduce the occurrence of induced abortion should specifically target unmarried women, low income, and those who have two children. The government should also work on preventing early marriage and providing sexual and reproductive health education to help adolescents delay age at first sexual experience.

Reported patterns of pregnancy termination from Demographic and Health Surveys

INTRODUCTION

Demographic and Health Surveys, widely used for estimation of fertility and reproductive health indicators in developing countries, remain underutilized for the study of pregnancy termination. This is partly due to most surveys not reporting the type of pregnancy termination, whether spontaneous or induced. Reproductive calendar data makes it possible to examine termination patterns according to contraceptive use at the time of pregnancy. Contraceptive failure is expected to increase the likelihood of induced abortion helping in the interpretation of reported termination patterns.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We use individual-level calendar data regarding 623,966 pregnancies to analyze levels and differentials in reported patterns of pregnancy termination by age, union status, and contraceptive use in 107 DHS surveys from 50 countries. From the estimates of the probability of pregnancy termination, we compute derived reproductive health indicators providing an assessment of what is driving the differences by comparison to the few surveys reporting the type of pregnancy termination.

RESULTS

From our estimates, 10.9% of pregnancies do not end in live-birth and 63.7% of them are spontaneous terminations. Reported pregnancy termination is higher among women using contraceptives, consistent with expectations. Very low levels of reported PT in some countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, suggests possible underreporting. Differential patterns emerging from cluster analysis and regional rates indicate high rates of pregnancy termination driven by induced abortion in countries from the Former Soviet Union and Asian countries with liberal laws. Most countries with restrictive abortion laws have low levels of reported termination. While the probabilities of pregnancy termination are higher at older ages, termination rates generally peak at younger ages due to higher conception rates.

DISCUSSION

This is the first large comparative study of the patterns of reported pregnancy termination in DHS surveys. While we have explored the extent to which differences arise from spontaneous terminations or induced abortion, more research is needed regarding the determinants of reported pregnancy termination.