Post-Abortion Care: Nearly 20, 000 women die each year from complications of unsafe abortion and 13 percent of pregnancy-related deaths are attributable to this. It is estimated that one quarter to one-thirds of all pregnancy-related deaths are a consequence of unsafe abortion. It is unfortunate to know that about 19 million abortions each year are unsafe.
Maternal death has far reached consequences for community motherless children 3 to 10 times more likely to die within 2 years than are children who live with both parents.
An estimated 5 to 7.5 million women every year suffer debilitating non-fetal health problems as a result of unsafe abortion. For every maternal death, 10 – 15 women suffer morbidity.
What is post-abortion care(PAC)?
Post-abortion Care (PAC) consists of medical and related interventions designed to manage the complications of spontaneous and induced abortion, both safe and unsafe.
What are objective of PAC?
The aim of post-abortion care is to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality and to improve women’s sexual and reproductive health and lives.
What are elements of post-abortion care?
The model for post-abortion care consists of five elements:
- Treatment of incomplete and unsafe abortion-related complications that are potentially life-threatening.
- Counseling to identify and respond to women’s emotional and physical health needs and other concerns.
- Contraceptive and family planning services to help women prevent an unwanted pregnancy or practice birth spacing.
- Reproductive and other health services that are preferably provided on-site or through referrals to other accessible facilities in providers’ networks.
- Community and service-provider partnerships to prevent unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortion, mobilize resources to help women receive appropriate and timely care for complications from abortion and ensure health services reflect and meet community expectations and needs.
Does Post-abortion Care involve maintaining patient’s rights?
Yes; all women have right to prompt, highly-quality post-abortion medical care and counseling, whether their abortion was spontaneously or induced and regardless of the legal status of the abortion.
Women also have the right to information about their medical condition and make informed decisions regarding their medical and reproductive options.
What are the sexual and reproductive health rights?
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has produced a formal statement declaring women’s sexual and reproductive rights essential components of human rights. The IPPF charter includes twelve rights based on international human rights agreement.
- The Right to Life: This means among other things that no women’s life should be put at risk by reason of pregnancy.
- The Right to Liberty and Security of the Person: This recognizes that no person should be subjected to female genital cutting forced into pregnancy, sterilization or abortion against her will.
- The Right to Equality and to be Free From all Forms of Discrimination: This also includes one’s sexual and reproductive life.
- The Right to Privacy: This means that all sexual and reproductive health care services should be confidential and all women have the right to independent reproductive choices.
- The Right to Freedom of Thought: This refers to freedom from the restrictive interpretation of religious texts, beliefs, philosophies and customs as tools to curtail freedom of thought on sexual and reproductive health care and other issues.
- The Right to Information and Education: As it relates to sexual and reproductive health for all, including access to full information and free informed consent.
- The Right to Choose Whether to Marry and to Found and Plan a Family: Every woman has the right to decide who to marry and not and / or remain single. Forcing marriage on child girl is against her right and is punishable by law.
- The Right to Decide Whether or When to Have Children: Every woman has the right to choose when to have baby and with whom to choose as her partner.
- The Right to Health Care and Health Protection: This includes the right of health care clients to the highest possible quality of care and freedom from traditional practices that are harmful to health.
- The Right to the Benefits of Scientific Progress: This includes the right of health care clients to the highest possible quality of care and freedom from traditional practices that are harmful to health.
- The Right to Freedom of Assembly and Political Participation: This includes the right of all persons to seek to influence communities and governments to prioritize sexual and reproductive health rights.
- The Right to be Free from Torture and ill Treatment: This includes the rights of all women, men and young people to protection from violence, sexual exploitation and abuse.
How to Provide Post-abortion Care
Clinical assessment guides the diagnosis and treatment for each woman. For women presenting for post-abortion care (PAC), these findings and symptoms can generally be organized into four main clinical conditions, each describing a diagnosis and thereafter should be properly addressed.
- Light to moderate vaginal bleeding
- Severe vaginal bleeding/haemorrhage
- Sepsis/infection
- Intra-abdominal injury.
The bottom line
Tofort focuses on providing clear, reliable, respectful and evidence-based facts to ensure the safety of mothers and children. No woman should to die of pregnancy, labour, and puerperium. Therefore, let us unite and improve maternal and child health in wherever you are. Provide post-abortion care with least or no harm always. Safety to all mothers and children!
Thanks for reading.