title: Characteristics of abortion care seekers in south-western Nigeria.
abstract: This prospective hospital-based study was carried out to understand the characteristics of abortion care seekers in south-western Nigeria. Information was obtained from a total of 1876 women seeking abortion at hospitals using a questionnaire. The results show that majority (60%) were between the ages of 15 and 24 years, of which adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19 years constituted 23.7%. Most (63.2%) of the respondents were unmarried, but married women also constituted a significant proportion (30.2%) of the abortion care seekers. Students were the single highest group, while the predominant economic activity was trading (26.7%). Respondents terminated their pregnancies mainly because they were students or because they did not desire to have children. Most (35.5%) of the women were introduced to providers by friends. Average contraceptive prevalence among the abortion care seekers was 27.4%. It is obvious from the results that young persons, especially in-school adolescents, should be targeted for comprehensive sexuality education especially in view of the current HIV/AIDS pandemic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria. bonifaceoye@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Boniface A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Oye-Adeniran
authors.forename: Isaac F
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Adewole
authors.forename: Augustine V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Umoh
authors.forename: Ohluwafunmilayo R
authors.initials: OR
authors.lastname: Fapohunda
authors.forename: Ngozi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Iwere
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017533:Marital Status; D009549:Nigeria; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires