The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #48130

M. E. Khan, PhD, Bangladesh Country Office, Population Council, Asia & Near East Region, House CES (B) 21, Road 118, Gulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 8802-8821227, mekhan@pcdhaka.org and Shampa Maria D'Costa, MA, House Number 21, Popualtion Council, Road #118, Gulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

In 1972, Bangladesh took an imaginative step by allowing menstrual regulation (MR) as reproductive health measure. In Bangladesh where abortion is not permitted, MR helps millions of women to get rid of unwanted pregnancies. Today MR is provided through most of the (3700) Family Welfare Centres besides hospitals and urban clinics.

Despite of wide availability of MR services, reported MR statistics is far less (125,166) than actually performed (estimated 500,000+ ). Further, one third of these abortions are conducted by inserting foreign bodies and roots. The present paper based on available literature on MR and 30 in-depth case studies provides a critical review on what we know about MR services (availability, utilization, quality , profile of users) and what we NEED to know.

The in-depth interviews of women who had accepted abortion helps in understanding the pathway of decision making process, particularly to accept or reject unwanted pregnancy, choice of services, and the key players in this process.

The study reveals major gaps in knowledge about MR services. It also identifies several focal points in decision making process which cause delay in seeking MR services leading to rejection by the providers. Many of these women resort to unsafe methods. The paper shows total absence of post abortion care and counselling services.

Learning Objectives:

• · Paper identify major knowledge gap in abortion seeking behaviour which are critical to improve MR and post abortion services
• · Shows neglect of post abortion care in most of the clinics providing MR services

Keywords: Abortion, Decision-Making

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Population Council
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.