Fatal abortion in sub-Saharan Africa: ‘She dilated my cervix with a cassava root and the fetus fell out’

A study by Doctors Without Borders and others warns of the proliferation of complications suffered by women following a terminated pregnancy in conflict-affected regions

MONICAH MWANGI, BEATRIZ LECUMBERRI, (REUTERS)
SEP 11, 2023

“I arrived at a hospital in Bangui and a 25-year-old woman had just died in my colleagues’ arms from complications following an abortion,” says Estelle Pasquier, a researcher with Doctors Without Borders (MSF). “This can happen several times a month, but it is a preventable death with the right measures. The doctors there have their hands tied by legal and social impediments, but the vast majority consider that the healthcare in these circumstances is a right for all women because they see the damage wreaked on a daily basis when that right is ignored.” What Pasquier is describing prompted a pioneering study, of which she is co-author, on the complications suffered by women after abortion in particularly volatile regions of sub-Saharan Africa, a corner of the world where 70% of deaths related in some way to maternity occur.

Continued: https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-09-11/fatal-abortion-in-sub-saharan-africa-she-dilated-my-cervix-with-a-cassava-root-and-the-fetus-fell-out.html


Five takeaways from MSF’s study on unsafe abortions

Posted 6 Sep 2023 
Reliefweb

A study of two hospitals in conflict-affected settings finds patients at significantly higher risk of developing severe complications resulting from unsafe abortions.

Unsafe abortion is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in the world, with over 20,000 people dying each year due to related complications. In fragile or conflict-affected settings, the complications resulting from unsafe abortion are up to seven times more severe.

Continued: https://reliefweb.int/report/central-african-republic/five-takeaways-msfs-study-unsafe-abortions


Abortion: Women more at risk of death in fragile and conflict-affected settings

5 September 2023
Médecins Sans Frontières

Complications following unsafe abortions are up to seven times more severe in fragile or conflict-affected settings: these are the findings of one of the very first studies on the subject, carried out in two referral hospitals in Bangui in the Central African Republic and Jigawa State in northern Nigeria. Behind the statistics, real stories of real women – and a universal vulnerability.

“I was distraught. I had drunk the traditional medicine. Before that, someone had shown me how to insert a piece of iron into my vagina... It was a piece of iron like this [she shows the interviewer the size],” says Rasha*, a 32-year-old woman admitted to Bangui referral hospital with potentially life-threatening abortion-related complications.

Continued: https://www.msf.org/abortion-women-more-risk-death-fragile-and-conflict-affected-settings


Nigeria – How preventing unwanted pregnancies can reduce abortion, deaths — Experts

by Sade Oguntola 
August 31, 2023

INDUCED abortion is illegal in Nigeria, except when performed to save a woman’s life. Both the penal code, which is generally applied in the country’s northern states, and the criminal code, which generally applies in the southern states, allow this exception and the regions specify similar criminal penalties for noncompliance.

Yet, pregnancy terminations are quite common and because they are often performed clandestinely or by unskilled providers, they are sometimes unsafe. A recent survey indicated that unintended pregnancy and abortion are experienced by women worldwide.

Continued: https://tribuneonlineng.com/how-preventing-unwanted-pregnancies-can-reduce-abortion-deaths-experts/


Nigeria – Abortion: Public Health Expert Decries High Death Rate

By Olubunmi Osoteku, Ikeja
On Aug 26, 2023

Some Public health experts, including scholars and researchers, have decried the high rate of death resulting from unsafe abortion, especially among adolescents, in Nigeria and urged government to increase investment in Sexual and Reproductive Health (SHR).

The experts, who agreed that the lives of women and girls, aged 15-49, lost daily to abortion is worth more than the amount of funding required to provide the needed facilities and services to keep them alive, argued that comprehensive sexuality education should be provided for adolescents.

Continued: https://von.gov.ng/abortion-public-health-expert-decries-high-death-rate/


Government of Canada commits to increasing sexual and reproductive rights including access to abortion services

IPAS
July 21, 2023

Ipas is pleased to announce a partnership with the government of Canada to increase access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care for women and girls in Bolivia, Indonesia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Canadian government has pledged $10 million CAD for programmatic work in Bolivia, Indonesia and Nigeria to increase the sexual and reproductive autonomy of women and girls by expanding their access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services and enhancing their ability to make decisions about their own sexual and reproductive health.

Continued: https://www.ipas.org/news/government-of-canada-commits-to-increasing-sexual-and-reproductive-rights-including-access-to-abortion-services/


Punishment for Abortion in Nigeria

By Wildest_Imagination (self media writer)
July 8, 2023

Abortion is a highly controversial and sensitive topic that sparks debates and discussions worldwide. Nigeria, like many countries, has strict laws regarding abortion, considering it a criminal offense except in cases where the life of the mother is at risk. This article aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the punishment for abortion in Nigeria, exploring the legal framework, societal implications, and challenges faced by women seeking reproductive healthcare services. By shedding light on this subject, we hope to promote informed discussions and increase awareness of women's reproductive rights and healthcare needs.

The Legal Framework
The laws governing abortion in Nigeria are primarily derived from the Penal Code applicable in the northern states and the Criminal Code applicable in the southern states. These laws classify abortion as a criminal act, except when performed to save the life of the pregnant woman. In accordance with the Penal Code, anyone who causes an abortion, whether by providing the procedure or assisting in any way, is subject to imprisonment. The Criminal Code imposes similar penalties, effectively making abortion a punishable offense under Nigerian law.

Continued: https://ng.opera.news/ng/en/politics/62d27ff7c300f32a909aeecea6ae4bab


Misoprostol Alone Safely Ends Pregnancies After 10 Weeks, Study Suggests

Most women who took abortion drugs were successful even at later gestation periods, researchers reported. Many used only misoprostol, not the usual two-drug combination.

By Roni Caryn Rabin
July 6, 2023

An overwhelming majority of women were able to end unwanted pregnancies with abortion medications on their own and without additional medical procedures, even if they were well beyond the first trimester, according to a report published on Thursday.

The study was based on the experiences of 264 women who were nine to 16 weeks pregnant in Argentina, Nigeria and an unnamed country in Southeast Asia where abortion is illegal. Almost half of the women took only one drug, misoprostol, instead of the standard two-drug regimen, mifepristone and misoprostol.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/06/health/abortion-misoprostol.html


Nigeria – Unintended pregnancy, abortion in street-involved adolescents in Lagos, Osogbo high — Survey

by Sade Oguntola 
June 22, 2023

UNINTENDED pregnancy and induced abortion is a common experience among the sexually active street-involved adolescents, with a history of school attendance significantly reducing the likelihood of being pregnant, a study has revealed.

It added that those aged between 15 and 19 years who became pregnant are significantly less likely to abort.

Continued: https://tribuneonlineng.com/unintended-pregnancy-abortion-in-street-involved-adolescents-in-lagos-osogbo-high-survey/


Nigeria – Increasing Use Of Family Planning As Strategy To Lower Maternal Mortality

Jun 9, 2023

Increased use of family planning, according to studies, lowers the number of unintended pregnancies and, as a result, lowers the high rates of maternal mortality.

Sadly, many African countries, like Nigeria, still have low use and availability of contraceptives. According to the 2018 Global Family Planning Report, Nigeria had nearly 1.3 million unintended pregnancies in 2018, yet only 13.8 percent of Nigerian women utilised contraception at the same time.

Continued:  https://independent.ng/increasing-use-of-family-planning-as-strategy-to-lower-maternal-mortality/