Suchergebnisse

Sub‐Saharan Africa has the highest death rate from induced abortion in the world, and young women in southern Nigeria are particularly likely to terminate their pregnancies. This study assesses the prevalence of and factors associated with induced abortion among 601 young women aged 15–24 who were surveyed in Edo State, Nigeria, in 2002. We find that 41 percent of all pregnancies reported by the young women surveyed were terminated, and we estimate the age‐specific abortion rate for 15–19‐year‐olds in Edo State at 49 abortions per 1,000 women, which is slightly higher than previous local estimates and nearly double the countrywide estimate for women aged 15–49. We construct explanatory multivariate models to predict the likelihood that a young woman has experienced sexual intercourse, has become pregnant, and has undergone an induced abortion, controlling for important demographic and risk‐behavior factors. Young women unmarried at the time of the interview are found to be significantly more likely than married women to have had an abortion. Young women who have experienced transactional or forced sex are also significantly more likely to report ever having had an abortion, as are young women who have experienced more than one pregnancy. We conclude with suggestions for modifying the content and target populations of behavioral change messages and programs in the area.

This article evaluates the effects of involving men in family planning counseling in Jordan using a randomized experiment. We randomly assigned a sample of 1,247 married women to receive women‐only counseling, couples counseling, or no counseling. We measured the effects of each type of counseling on family planning use, knowledge, attitudes, and spousal communication about family planning. Compared to no counseling, couples counseling led to a 54 percent increase in uptake of modern methods. This effect is not significantly different from the 46 percent increase in modern method uptake as a result of women‐only counseling. This outcome may be due, in part, to lower rates of compliance with the intervention among those assigned to couples counseling compared to women‐only counseling. To realize the possible added benefits of involving men, more tailored approaches may be needed to increase men's participation.