• J A Unuigbe, A U Oronsaye, and A A Orhue.
• Trop J Obstet Gynaecol. 1988 Jan 1; 1 (1): 36-9.

AbstractIn a 13-year review of maternal deaths of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, abortion was one of the 3 major causes of death, accounting for 37 (22.4) out of 165 deaths. Induced abortion was responsible for 34 (91.9%) of these deaths. The usual victim is the teenage and inexperienced school girl who has no ready access to contraceptive practice. Death was mainly due to sepsis, (including tetanus) hemorrhage, and trauma to vital organs, complication directly attributable to faulty techniques by unskilled abortion providers, by- product of the present restrictive abortion laws. Total overhaul of maternal child health services and family health education system, as well as integration of planned parenthood at primary health care level into the health care delivery system, are suggested. Contraceptive practice should be made available to all categories of women at risk and the cost subsidized by governmental and institutional bodies. Where unwanted pregnancies occur, the authors advocate termination in appropriate health institutions where lethal and sometimes fatal complications are unlikely to occur. In effect, from the results of this study and review of studies on abortion deaths in Nigeria and other developing countries, it is obvious that a revision of abortion laws as they operate, notable, in the African continent, is overdue.

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