Unsafe abortions in Kenya: complication severity and associated factors

Globally more than 350,000 women annually die from complications of pregnancy or child birth. The problem of unsafe abortion is complicated by limited availability of services and restrictive laws. It is estimated that over 97% of all unsafe abortions occur in sub-Saharan Africa due unsafe facilities, untrained providers or both. Understanding the burden and potential areas for intervention is complicated by the lack of data. Data used here came from 292 public and private facilities and 2,680 women seeking post abortion care over a one month period.

Results show that abortion complications are a major cause of morbidity with 37% of all women seeking post abortion care suffering a severe complication. Interference with pregnancy was associated with 2.9 times higher odds of having a severe complication as compared to those who reported no interference with the pregnancy. Second trimester abortions had about 50% higher odds of a severe complication than first trimester abortions. Delay in reaching facility from onset of symptoms was associated with higher odds of a severe complication. Higher proportion of second trimester abortions and those with severe complications had longer hospitalization. About 65% of all abortion clients are managed using vacuum aspiration, 76% were given oxytocics and 55% received contraception.