Trend of hospital admissions due to abortion-related complications in Maranhão

Abstract

The practice of unsafe abortion puts women's health at risk and is an important cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. Therefore, research on abortion is relevant for describing aspects related to women's reproductive health and the reduction of maternal mortality related to this cause. The aim of this study was to assess the trend in hospital admissions due to abortion-related complications in Maranhão. This ecological, time-series study was carried out using data from hospitalizations due to abortion complications in women aged 10 to 49 years from 2000 to 2014, in Maranhão. Data were collected from the Hospital Information System of the Unified Health System. The Joinpoint method was used to analyze trends according to health regions. A total of 103,825 hospitalizations for complications of abortion were analyzed, with an increase of 105% between 2000 and 2014. The average hospitalization rate for the entire period was 3.4 abortions per 1,000 women. There was a trend towards an increase in the rate of hospitalizations throughout the state, except for the São Luís health region, which showed a downward trend in the rate of hospitalization. Future investigations, especially outside the hospital environment, should be carried out to better understand the abortion practices in the state.

Keywords

• abortion. hospitalization. women's health. sexual and reproductive rights. time series studies.