Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34639806›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021

Maternal Mortality from Induced Abortion in Malawi: What Does the Latest Evidence Suggest?

Calum Miller

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. If abortion substantially risks homicide, it should be illegal.Theoretical medicine and bioethics · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

Calum MillerSt. Benet's Hall, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3LN, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

It is commonly claimed that thousands of women die every year from unsafe abortion in Malawi. This commentary critically assesses those claims, demonstrating that these estimates are not supported by the evidence. On the contrary, the latest evidence-itself from 15 to 20 years ago-suggests that 6-7% of maternal deaths in Malawi are attributable to induced and spontaneous abortion combined, totalling approximately 70-150 deaths per year. I then offer some evidence suggesting that a substantial proportion of these are attributable to spontaneous abortion. To reduce maternal mortality by large margins, emergency obstetric care should be prioritised, which will also save women from complications of induced and spontaneous abortion.

Indexed as

Abortion, InducedAbortion, SpontaneousFemaleHumansMalawiMaternal MortalityPregnancyabortionMalawimaternal deathsmaternal mortalityspontaneous abortion

Identifiers

PMID34639806
PMCPMC8507663

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.