Illegal induced abortion exposes women to risks and complications. These decrease when the abortion is carried out safely. Complications resulting from unsafe abortions can cause death or may effect future pregnancies, increasing ectopic pregnancy and spontaneous abortion, for example. The purpose of this paper is to present Brazilian data on the association between complications caused by illegal induced abortions and the conditions in which they are performed. The study was done in 1990 in a Brazilian university. Data was obtained through a questionnaire distributed to all the female employees and graduate students. Forty-two percent of the students and 27% of the employees responded; 82 students and 264 employees had had at least one illegal abortion; 15 and 50, respectively, had suffered health problems (complications) after the last one. The women whose abortions had been done by physicians, in a clinic or hospital, and using modern techniques presented fewer complications. Younger women were not significantly different from the others when frequency of complications was studied. However, this group was composed mainly of students with a higher level of education and more economic resources.
Induced Abortion; Complications; Unsafe Abortion
