Elective abortion amongst Nigerian undergraduates

Abstract

Elective abortion is a kind of voluntary abortion that is procured for reasons other than preserving the health of the pregnant woman. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of elective abortion and the use of condom as a contraceptive amongst Nigerian undergraduates viz a viz eliciting the elective abortion options adopted by them.  In this cross sectional study, 1,396 structured questionnaires were administered to Nigerian undergraduates who were selected randomly from various randomly selected faculties from a university. Subjects for the study gave informed consents. The incidence of abortion in this study was 504 (43.5%) and the most favored elective abortion option was manual vacuum aspiration, 247 (49.0%) in a hospital followed by the use of drugs 128 (25.4%) and then the use of native medication 45 (9.0%). Thus 51% of the respondents were involved in unsafe abortion; this is alarming considering its grave complications and its consequence on the career of the Nigerian undergraduate. Again, more than half of the respondents, who use condoms occasionally or do not use it at all, were involved in elective abortion. This implies that these groups of individuals probably see elective abortion as a contraceptive. Establishment of visibly active family planning units in the health centers of universities will reduce the rate of unsafe abortions. Besides, teaching undergraduates at all levels a detailed Safe sex and Family planning course will further enhance the efficiency of the family planning unit in the health centers.