ArticlePloS one2018
Abortion in Zimbabwe: A national study of the incidence of induced abortion, unintended pregnancy and post-abortion care in 2016.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A meta-analysis into the mediatory effects of family planning utilization on complications of pregnancy in women of reproductive age.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Post-abortion family planning use, method preference, and its determinant factors in Eastern Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- National Estimates of Liberia's 2021 Unintended Pregnancy and Induced Abortion.International journal of women's health · 2026Article
- Estimating Incidence of Induced Abortion and Unintended Pregnancy Among Women in Refugee Settlements in Uganda.Studies in family planning · 2025Article
- Quality of post-abortion care services in the greater Accra region: connecting the perspectives of service providers and experiences of clients.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Magnitude, determinants, and adverse outcomes of unintended pregnancy among pregnant mothers in low- and middle-income countries: An umbrella review of systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of global health · 2024Review
- Mixed-methods approach in evaluating safe abortion care services at public health facilities in North Shewa zone, central Ethiopia: a multicenter institutional cross-sectional study.Frontiers in health services · 2024Article
- Health facilities readiness to provide comprehensive abortion care and factors associated with client satisfaction in Central Oromia Region, Ethiopia: a multilevel modeling approach.Reproductive health · 2023Article
- Women's perceptions of and experiences with the use of misoprostol for treatment of incomplete abortion in central Malawi: a mixed methods study.Reproductive health · 2023Article
- Perception of the Saudi Population on Abortion Decisions in Congenital Fetal Anomalies.Cureus · 2022Article
- Experiences of Using Misoprostol in the Management of Incomplete Abortions: A Voice of Healthcare Workers in Central Malawi.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Towards the decriminalization of abortion in Zimbabwe: A public health perspective.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2022Article
- A cross-sectional study design to assess the sexual experiences and contraceptive use of adolescents and youths attending high school and college in Jimma town.Contraception and reproductive medicine · 2022Article
- Economic and social dimensions influencing safety of induced abortions amongst young women who sell sex in Zimbabwe.Sexual and reproductive health matters · 2021Article
- Article
- Social network-based measurement of abortion incidence: promising findings from population-based surveys in Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, and Rajasthan, India.Population health metrics · 2020Article
- Estimating abortion incidence and unintended pregnancy among adolescents in Zimbabwe, 2016: a cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2020Article
- Evaluating the quality and coverage of post-abortion care in Zimbabwe: a cross-sectional study with a census of health facilities.BMC health services research · 2020Article
- Knowledge and attitudes towards abortion from health care providers and abortion experts in Zimbabwe: a cross sectional study.The Pan African medical journal · 2019Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundZimbabwe has the highest contraceptive prevalence rate in sub-Saharan Africa, but also one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world. Little is known, however, about the incidence of abortion and post-abortion care (PAC) in Zimbabwe. Access to legal abortion is rare, and limited to circumstances of rape, incest, fetal impairment, or to save the woman's life.
objectivesThis paper estimates a) the national provision of PAC, b) the first-ever national incidence of induced abortion in Zimbabwe, and c) the proportion of pregnancies that are unintended.
methodsWe use the Abortion Incidence Complications Method (AICM), which indirectly estimates the incidence of induced abortion by obtaining a national estimate of PAC cases, and then estimates what proportion of all induced abortions in the country would result in women receiving PAC. Three national surveys were conducted in 2016: a census of health facilities with PAC capacity (n = 227), a prospective survey of women seeking abortion-related care in a nationally-representative sample of those facilities (n = 127 facilities), and a purposive sample of experts knowledgeable about abortion in Zimbabwe (n = 118). The estimate of induced abortion, along with census and Demographic Health Survey data was used to estimate unintended pregnancy.
resultsThere were an estimated 25,245 PAC patients treated in Zimbabwe in 2016, but there were critical gaps in their care, including stock-outs of essential PAC medicines at half of facilities. Approximately 66,847 induced abortions (uncertainty interval (UI): 54,000-86,171) occurred in Zimbabwe in 2016, which translates to a national rate of 17.8 (UI: 14.4-22.9) abortions per 1,000 women 15-49. Overall, 40% of pregnancies were unintended in 2016, and one-quarter of all unintended pregnancies ended in abortion.
conclusionZimbabwe has one of the lowest abortion rates in sub-Saharan Africa, likely due to high rates of contraceptive use. There are gaps in the health care system affecting the provision of quality PAC, potentially due to the prolonged economic crisis. These findings can inform and improve policies and programs addressing unsafe abortion and PAC in Zimbabwe.
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