Carine Baxerres1, Ines Boko2, Adjara Konkobo3, Fatoumata Ouattara4, Agnès Guillaume5. 1. Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - MERIT (Université Paris Descartes), Centre Nobert Elias, EHESS, Centre de la vieille charité, 2 rue de la Charité, 13002 Marseille, France. Electronic address: carine.baxerres@ird.fr. 2. Université Abomey Calavi, Faculté des Sciences de la Santé, CERPAGE, Cotonou, Bénin. Electronic address: inesboko@yahoo.fr. 3. EHESS de Marseille / Université Ouaga I Pr. Joseph KI-ZERBO, 01 BP 182 Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso. Electronic address: kkonkoboadjara@yahoo.fr. 4. Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - LPED (AMU/IRD), Centre Saint Charles, Case 10, 3, place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille, Cedex 03, France. Electronic address: fatou.ouattara@ird.fr. 5. Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Centre Population et Développement, UMR IRD - Université Paris Descartes, 45 rue des Saints-Pères, 75006 Paris, France. Electronic address: agnes.guillaume@ird.fr.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to document the means women use to obtain abortions in the capital cities of Benin and Burkina Faso, and to learn whether or not use of misoprostol has become an alternative to other methods of abortion, and the implications for future practice. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted in-depth, qualitative interviews between 2014 and 2015 with 34 women - 21 women in Cotonou (Benin) and 13 women in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) - about their pathways to abortion. To obtain a diverse sample in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, we recruited the women through our own knowledge networks, in health facilities where women are treated for unsafe abortion complications, and in schools in Benin. RESULTS: The 34 women had had 69 abortions between them. Twenty-five of the women had had 37 abortions in the previous 5 years; the other abortions were 5-20 years before. Pathways to abortion were very different in the two cities. Lengthy and difficult pathways with unsafe methods often led to complications in Ougadougou, whereas most Cotonou women went to small, private health centers. Six of the 37 abortions in the previous 5 years involved misoprostol use, and were all among educated women with significant social and economic capital and personal contact with clinicians. CONCLUSIONS: Use of misoprostol for abortion has appeared in both Cotonou and Ougadougou in the past 5 years. Evidence that the use of misoprostol for abortion occurred among women with the most access to information and resources in this study suggests that increased awareness of and use of misoprostol in both countries is likely in the coming years. IMPLICATIONS: Although no pharmaceutical company that produces misoprostol has as yet tried to obtain marketing authorization in either Burkina Faso or Benin for gynecological-obstetric indications, making its use more potential than actual for the time being, international advocacy for access to medical abortion is growing rapidly and is likely to lead to many changes in this picture in the coming years.
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to document the means women use to obtain abortions in the capital cities of Benin and Burkina Faso, and to learn whether or not use of misoprostol has become an alternative to other methods of abortion, and the implications for future practice. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted in-depth, qualitative interviews between 2014 and 2015 with 34 women - 21 women in Cotonou (Benin) and 13 women in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) - about their pathways to abortion. To obtain a diverse sample in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, we recruited the women through our own knowledge networks, in health facilities where women are treated for unsafe abortion complications, and in schools in Benin. RESULTS: The 34 women had had 69 abortions between them. Twenty-five of the women had had 37 abortions in the previous 5 years; the other abortions were 5-20 years before. Pathways to abortion were very different in the two cities. Lengthy and difficult pathways with unsafe methods often led to complications in Ougadougou, whereas most Cotonou women went to small, private health centers. Six of the 37 abortions in the previous 5 years involved misoprostol use, and were all among educated women with significant social and economic capital and personal contact with clinicians. CONCLUSIONS: Use of misoprostol for abortion has appeared in both Cotonou and Ougadougou in the past 5 years. Evidence that the use of misoprostol for abortion occurred among women with the most access to information and resources in this study suggests that increased awareness of and use of misoprostol in both countries is likely in the coming years. IMPLICATIONS: Although no pharmaceutical company that produces misoprostol has as yet tried to obtain marketing authorization in either Burkina Faso or Benin for gynecological-obstetric indications, making its use more potential than actual for the time being, international advocacy for access to medical abortion is growing rapidly and is likely to lead to many changes in this picture in the coming years.
Authors: Brittany Moore; Cheri Poss; Ernestina Coast; Samantha R Lattof; Yana van der Meulen Rodgers Journal: PLoS One Date: 2021-02-18 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Laura Hinson; Anam M Bhatti; Meroji Sebany; Suzanne O Bell; Mara Steinhaus; Claire Twose; Chimaraoke Izugbara Journal: BMC Womens Health Date: 2022-10-10 Impact factor: 2.742
Authors: Ernestina Coast; Samantha R Lattof; Yana van der Meulen Rodgers; Brittany Moore; Cheri Poss Journal: PLoS One Date: 2021-06-09 Impact factor: 3.240