Abortion and unintended pregnancy in Pakistan: new evidence for 2023 and trends over the past decade.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite induced abortion being highly legally restricted in Pakistan, studies in 2002 and 2012 showed that many women rely on abortion when faced with an unintended pregnancy. Following the 2012 study, concerted efforts were made to improve contraceptive services and to strengthen postabortion care. The availability and use of misoprostol also expanded in the past decade. Our primary objective was to provide new evidence on the rates of unintended pregnancy, induced abortion and postabortion care in 2023 and to assess trends in these outcomes since 2012.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study based on a Health Professional Survey, and a nationally representative Health Facilities Survey, conducted in 2023. A widely applied methodology is used to estimate rates of

SUBMITTER: Sathar Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11784335 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature