TRENDS IN ABORTION IN IRAN: 1994 – 2002

In all societies, regardless of the legal, moral, or cultural issues of abortion, there are some women who desperately seek to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. With the growing desire to limit childbearing to one or two children, and while accessibility to effective contraception is limited, abortion is common worldwide. This hospital-based study was conducted to determine the abortion complications and outcome of pregnancy. About 78% of the 75 cases studied attempted to induce abortion through injection of prostaglandin (Prostine) but others attempted by curettage. Forty percent of females had complete abortion, 18.5% had failed abortion, and the remaining had incomplete abortion. The use of prostaglandin alone has been replaced by curettage, but it succeeds in terminating pregnancy in just 40% of the cases.