Background: Induced abortion is a traditional method of birth control and it can indicate unmet maternal reproductiveneeds. Little is known about the use of induced abortion by married women in Iraq.Aims: This cross-sectional study aimed to explore whether induced abortion is used for birth control by married womenin Mosul, and to determine the sociodemographic and family characteristics associated with its use.Methods: Multistage stratified sampling was used to recruit 1302 married women of child-bearing age (15–49 years)attending primary health care centres in Mosul. Women were interviewed using a validated questionnaire between April2011 and 31 January 2012. Data collected included: use of induced abortion and method, social and family background,and contraceptive use. The χ2-test was used to assess the association of sociodemographic and cultural factors with theinduced abortion.Results: Of the 1302 women, 13.5% had tried to induce an abortion at some time, by undertaking heavy physical activities(66.2%) or using of herbal remedies (22.2%) or pharmacological preparations (17.6%). The prevalence of reported inducedabortion was significantly lower among women using contraceptives, older women, those with a higher education,working women, suburban and rural residents, those living in extended families, and women in consanguineousmarriages and non-polygynous marriages (P < 0.05).Conclusions: Over 10% of the married women had induced abortion to control births. Health education is recommendedto encourage contraceptive use.
展开▼
