The magnitude and severity of abortion-related complications at Castors Maternity in Bangui, Central African Republic

A lack of evidence on abortion complications in fragile settings limits the understanding of women’s needs in access to comprehensive abortion care in this context. This study describes the burden of abortion-related complications and their contributing factors in the maternity ward of Castors in Bangui, CAR.

The evidence brief presents selected results of two components of the Abortion-related Morbidity and Mortality in Conflict-affected and Fragile Settings (AMoCo) study:

1. A quantitative observational study of clinical characteristics of women presenting with any type of abortion complications, and
2. A quantitative survey with a sub-group of these women who were hospitalised.

The results indicated that women in this hospital suffered from more severe abortion complications than those treated in hospitals in stable settings across Africa. The risk of very severe complications was more than three times higher among women who reported unsafely induced abortion.

The brief highlights the need to recognise abortion as a serious health issue, and to increase access to safe post-abortion care.

Image credit: MSF