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This study evaluates the implementation of misoprostol for postabortion care (MPAC) in two African countries, Kenya and Uganda. The Ministries of Health, local health centers and hospitals, and NGO staff developed evidence-based service delivery protocols to introduce MPAC in selected facilities; implementation extended from January 2009 to October 2010. RESULTS: In both countries, MPAC was easy to use, and freed up provider time and health facility resources traditionally necessary for provision of PAC with uterine aspiration. On-going support of providers following training ensured high quality of care. Providers perceived that many women preferred MPAC, as they avoided instrumentation of the uterus, hospital admission, cost, and stigma associated with abortion.
More than half the population supports gay marriage and families. So when will abortion and women’s rights to reproductive self-determination be a cultural norm?
Implementation of misoprostol for postabortion care in Kenya and Uganda: A qualitative evaluation Global progress to reduce maternal deaths from unsafe abortion is inadequate. Clarifying abortion values and attitudes, using updated WHO safe abortion te …
The stigma that often surrounds abortion and anyone associated with it—women, providers, pharmacists and advocates—contributes to abortion’s social, medical and legal marginalization. At Ipas, we know that stigmatizing abortion is inherently harmful to women’s health — preventing them from getting the care they deserve.
Every day of every week several state legislatures are hard at work creating more and more restrictions to punish both women in need of abortion and the medical professionals providing safe abortion care. What do all of these actions across the country share? They’re all rooted in abortion stigma.
The importance of South Africa as a model for reproductive self-determination in Africa cannot be underestimated. Abortion has been legal since 1996, and the country has some of the most developed government systems for the provision of abortion care on the continent. Yet in the same way opponents of abortion in the United States have whittled away at access with increased bureaucracy, South Africa faces similar assaults that leave women without safe care and threaten to turn back achievements made during the past 16 years. This article explores the history of the law, subsequent legal challenges, and new threats to women’s access to abortion services, including service delivery issues that may influence the future of public health in the country.
Available Here Implementation of misoprostol for postabortion care in Kenya and Uganda: A qualitative evaluation Elaborados después de una investigación realizada con jóvenes en la Ciudad de México y en Tlaxcala, Atrévete a pensar diferente es una ser …
Harm reduction is an evidence-based public health and human rights framework that prioritizes strategies to reduce harm and preserve health in situations where policies and practices prohibit, stigmatize and drive common human activities underground. T …
Available Here Implementation of misoprostol for postabortion care in Kenya and Uganda: A qualitative evaluation In December 2012, Ipas hosted a meeting—“In Women’s Hands: Increasing Access to Medical Abortion Drugs and Information through Pharmacies a …
Part of breaking the stigma is removing the silence and we are doing it loudly and clearly. By talking about abortion stigma we can recognize how it is created and perpetuated and what our individual roles and responsibilities are in working toward stigma-free language, concepts, and services.
The reality is that 42 million women around the world have abortions each year regardless of any politician’s religious beliefs or “moderated” position on abortion.
To address the knowledge gap that exists in costing unsafe abortion in Ethiopia, estimates were derived of the cost to the health system of providing postabortion care (PAC), based on research conducted in 2008.
Implementation of misoprostol for postabortion care in Kenya and Uganda: A qualitative evaluation This study estimated the proportion of abortion patients in the USA reporting perceived and internalized stigma, and assessed associations between those o …
Unsafe abortion is a significant contributor to maternal mortality in Nigeria, and treatment of postabortion complications drains public healthcare resources. Provider estimates of medications, supplies, and staff time spent in 17 public hospitals were used to estimate the per-case and annual costs of postabortion care (PAC) provision in Ogun and Lagos states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Implementation of misoprostol for postabortion care in Kenya and Uganda: A qualitative evaluation Malawian women in all sectors of society are suffering from social implications of unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion. Unwanted pregnancies occur amon …
Despite Zambia’s relatively progressive abortion law, women continue to seek unsafe, illegal abortions. Four domains of abortion attitudes – support for legalization, immorality, rights, and access to services – were measured in 4 communities.
This study aimed to understand women’s pathways of seeking care for postabortion complications in Madhya Pradesh, India. The study recruited 786 women between July and November 2007.
Unsafe termination of pregnancy is a major contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality. Task sharing termination of pregnancy services between physicians and mid-level providers, a heterogeneous group of trained healthcare providers, such as nurses, midwives and physician assistants, has become a key strategy to increase access to safe pregnancy termination care.
The new WHO recommendations make it painfully clear that, nearly 40 years after Roe v. Wade, we’re doing everything wrong here. Whether it’s gestational limits, ultrasounds, counseling or human rights, nearly every policy proposed by anti-abortion legislators directly contradicts the new WHO guidelines, which are based on years of consultation and discussion, incorporating scientific evidence and international human rights standards.
At a time when the pool of abortion providers is shrinking and abortion clinics are closing, medical abortion can truly increase women’s access, particularly to those in underserved areas. For legislators who want to end access to abortion under any circumstances, medical abortion is an obvious target.