Attendance at post-abortion follow-up visits is low, but little information about factors affecting it.
Researchers conducted this study to assess the factors associated with non-compliance with post-abortion services and evaluate differences in attendance rates and IUD insertion according to the type of service provision.
Researchers randomized six hundred five women undergoing a first-trimester medical termination of pregnancy (MTOP) and planning to use intrauterine contraception into two groups. Three hundred six women in the intervention group were booked to have IUD insertion 1–4 weeks after the MTOP at the hospital providing the abortion. In contrast, 299 women in the control group were advised to contact their primary healthcare (PHC) center for follow-up and IUD insertion.
In the intervention group, predictive factors for not having an IUD inserted were anxiety, history of pregnancy, and abortion. However, we identified no significant predictive factors in the control group.
The study concluded that the factors predicting low compliance with post-MTOP follow-up are few. Comprehensive provision of abortion care and post-abortion services seems beneficial for minimizing the loss to follow-up and delay in initiation of effective contraception.
Reference: https://srh.bmj.com/content/44/4/278
