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An unwanted pregnancy is a pregnancy that a woman or girl decides, of her own free will, is undesired.
Nearly 40% of the nearly 182 million pregnancies each year in the developing world are unwanted or ill-timed. 46 million unwanted pregnancies end in abortion each year, 20 million of which are unsafe.
Unwanted pregnancy
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Non-use of available contraceptives, due to
Lack of information, limited access to services, financial constraints, personal beliefs, family objections, and/or health concerns
Misinformation about reproduction
Adolescents are susceptible to unwanted pregnancy and the risks of early and unprotected sexual activity because they lack information and services
Sexual coercion, abuse, or rape
20% to 50% of all women report having experienced sexual violence
Contraceptive failure
Leads to an estimated 8-30 million pregnancies each year
Causes of unwanted pregnancy
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Emergency contraception (EC)
Contraceptive methods women canuse to prevent unwanted pregnancyin the first few days followingunprotected sex.
The most common method of EC isto take a specific increased dose oforal contraceptive pills within 72hours of intercourse. EC does notcause abortion.
EC is especially appropriate for women who have experienced condom failure or sexual coercion.
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Family planning decreases unwanted pregnancy and the need for abortion
Unmet need for contraception
Worldwide between 120 and 150 million married women — and up to 15 million unmarried women — who want to limitor space future pregnancies are not using a contraceptive method.
Family planning services must:
Be available to married and unmarried people
Offer a range of methods appropriate to clients’ needs
Be provided in a confidential and non-judgmental manner
Access to and correct use of family planning methods can prevent many unwanted pregnancies and reduce the need for abortion.
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Consequences of unwanted pregnancy
Unwanted pregnancy has significant consequences for women and their families, including:
Unwanted and early marriage
Constrained opportunities for education or employment
Social stigma for unmarried women/girls
Additional strain on family resources for food, education, and health care
Unsafe abortion, which may result in long-term illness, emotional distress, and death
Unsafe abortion is the termination of a pregnancy carried out by someone without the skills or training to perform the procedure safely, or in a place that does not meet minimal medical standards, or both.
Approximately 20 million unsafe abortions take place each year. More than 200 women die every day from complications of unsafe abortion. 99.9% of abortion-related deaths and complications occur in the developing world.
Unsafe abortion
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World’s abortion laws
Even where abortion is permitted by law, women often encounter obstacles when seeking to end a pregnancy, including: high cost, difficult access, inadequate facilities, social stigma, and poorly trained and unsympathetic medical personnel.
Percentage of world’s women living in countries where abortion is permitted,various conditions
unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion
.4%
25%
10%
3%
20%
42%
Prohibited entirely
To save a woman's life
Physical healthMental health
Socioeconomic grounds
Without restrictions
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Deaths from unsafe abortion (per year)
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0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
Africa Asia Latin America & Caribbean Europe
34,000
38,500
5,000
500
Unsafe abortion: Global and Regional Estimates of incidence of and Mortality – World Health Organization
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Social and economic costs ofunsafe abortion
unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion
Some hospitals in developing countries spend as much as 50% of their obstetric and gynecological budgetstreating complications of unsafe abortion.
Disabilities resulting from complications of unsafe abortion may also:
limit women’s productivity inside and outside of the home
constrain their ability to care for their children
adversely affect sexual relations
When mothers die from abortion-related complications, their families lose a primary care giver and in many cases, a primary wage earner as well.
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Unsafe abortion is a public health concern that affects the livesof tens of thousands of women, children, and families each year.
Public policy and laws must respect and promote women’s health and rights, by:
Ensuring that changes in abortion laws are accompanied by supportive policies and service delivery guidelines that promote safe, high quality services
Ensuring greater access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, including high quality care for abortion complications and safe services for legal termination of pregnancy
Refraining from prosecuting women who have had abortions
Addressing unsafe abortion
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Safe and legal abortion services
Women must know of and have access to safe, high quality abortion services to the extent permitted by national laws.
Providers must:
Be well-informed about the status of the law
Offer women high quality services and a choice of appropriate technologies
Provide confidential, compassionate counseling
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Postabortion care includes:
Emergency treatment ofabortion complications
Family planning counseling and services
Linkages to a full range of reproductive health services
Community participation to help prevent unwanted pregnancies and ensure that women suffering from postabortion complications receive the care they need in a timely manner.
Postabortion care services should be offered in a compassionate,non-judgmental manner.
Postabortion care saves livesPostabortion care must be available towomen suffering from complications ofspontaneous and induced abortions.
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