ArticleBMC women's health2024
Factors influencing abortion care-seeking outside of formal healthcare settings: lived experiences from Rwandan young women.
Article in BMC women's health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- 'I chose to keep it secret:' a qualitative study on the lived experience of women who underwent an abortion in Ethiopia.International health · 2026Article
- Where shame meets vulnerability: unintended adolescent pregnancy within the cultural context of the rural district of Rwandan Eastern Province.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Non-facility MMA (Medical Methods of Abortion) use for induced abortion: A study of women with access to safe abortion services in Lucknow.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2026Article
- Telehealth for all: Rwanda's digital leap in sexual and reproductive healthcare access.Sexual and reproductive health matters · 2025Article
- Barriers to accessibility and availability of safe abortion services among young women in Nepal: a mixed-methods study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Stage-Specific Psychological Distress, Coping, and Social Support among Women Undergoing Pregnancy Termination in Rwanda: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study.Rwanda journal of medicine and health sciences · 2025Article
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10 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundInformal abortions, commonly known as unsafe abortions, refer to all induced abortions that occur outside of formal healthcare settings conducted without the assistance of a licensed, trained healthcare provider. Despite the legalization of safe induced abortion care services, informal abortions continue to be among the major causes of maternal mortality and morbidity among young women in Rwanda living in rural areas with limited or no access to safe abortion care services. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived experience of seeking informal abortions from the perspective of young women in rural Rwanda and to identify the underlying factors for these women seeking abortion care services outside of the formal healthcare setting.
methodsThis qualitative study was guided by a descriptive phenomenology in rural Rwanda, specifically in a selected district located in the Northern Province of Rwanda. Ten young women between 18 and 24 years of age, who had the experience of seeking informal abortion services from informal providers within the last eight years participated in audio-recorded, in-depth, face-to-face interviews. Collected data were analyzed using Colaizzi's (1978) seven steps of the phenomenological method.
resultsThe study found that young Rwandan women still seek unregulated abortions to end their unintended pregnancies due to limited access to or utilization of sexual reproductive health and rights services. Among the reasons for seeking abortion care services outside of the formal healthcare setting in Rwanda were sociocultural and economic factors and the stigma associated with terminating unintended pregnancies before marriage.
conclusionIn light of the findings of this study, the authors recommend the Ministry of Health and its stakeholders to expand access to comprehensive adolescent and youth-friendly reproductive health and reproductive rights while addressing the sociocultural stigma through public awareness and economic factors that play a big role in unregulated abortions rather than safe abortion care services.
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