[Voluntary interruption of pregnancy: comparative study between 1982 and 1996 in the main center of Côte d'Or. Study of women having repeat voluntary interruption of pregnancy].
Since the egal use of induced abortion (1975), all the studies have shown a relative stability of the abortion rate related to delivery. Otherwise since 1985 we have noted an increase of repeat abortions.


OBJECTIVE
We compared in same center two populations of aborters with a fifteen year's interval. Then we analysed the psyco-social conditions of patients who had more than one abortion (R).


METHODS
It was a comparative study between 1982 and 1996 in the main center of Côte d'Or (France). A representative sample of patients coming for abortion was retrospectively compared, (348 for 1982 and 343 for 1996).


RESULTS
There were more not married patients (p = 0.0003), more nulliparous women (p = 0.0017) and more nulligestities' one (p = 0.03) in 1996 than 1982. The interval between the previous pregnancy and in 1996 (p = 0.03). Repeat abortions (R) represented 15.8% in 1982 and 21.6% in 1996. Women who have had two or more abortions had increased significantly between 1982 (1.4%) and 1996 (5.2%) (p = 0.013). The R patients had more living children than patients who accessed for the first time at abortion (noR) in the two periods (p = 0.0003) and there were more women less thirty years old in the R group in 1996 than in 1992 (p < 0.05). The R mean age for the first abortion and for the first pregnancy were lower than the noR group in 1996: respectively 23.7 years versus 27.4% years (p = 0.00009) and 20.8 years versus 23.7 years (p = 0.0001). There were no significant difference between R and noR groups with regards of contraceptive failing, the reasons of abortion and the socio-professional categories.


CONCLUSIONS
There were no difference in the number of abortion between 1982 and 1996. However we noted an increase of repeat abortion. This group was characterised by great socio-economic problems, unstable couples and ambivalence with wish of pregnancy and no wish of children. It seemed exist a real psycho-social precariousness. Actually, this population was perfectly aware of contraceptive methods.
Douvier
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Service de gynécologie et d'obstétrique, CHU, 2, boulevard de Lattre de Tassigny, 21000 Dijon, France.
Lordier-Huynh-Ba
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C
Rousseau
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Reynaud
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I
D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D006801:Humans; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors