Pregnancy termination in Matlab, Bangladesh: Knowledge, cost of complication, and decision-making processes

Using Matlab Health and Demographic Surveillance database, the study initially selected about 18,000 women who had pregnancy outcome during 2008-09 and interviewed them subsequently in 2011 to examine the knowledge, cost of complication, and decision-making processes of pregnancy termination. The study documented that thirty percent non-abortion pregnancies were unwanted, but the women did not abort it mainly due to disagreement with the family members (3/4th cases). By contrast, over 90% of the aborted pregnancies were unwanted and most of the women (over 90%) received support from the family members to abort it. Those women who aborted the pregnancy were more knowledgeable about abortion procedures, less likely think that there was a risk of complications and also said less monetary cost of obtaining services for complication. Among women those who had abortion, 35% were using contraception before the conception, and 93% of them became pregnant during the method use. By contrast, among women those who had non-abortion pregnancy outcome, only 9.7% were using contraception before the conception, and 88% of them became pregnant during the method use; both groups were mainly using temporary contraceptive methods.