A study of characteristics of women seeking induced abortion.

A study was conducted in Malaysia of 148 women seeking induced abortion from doctors. The influence of socioeconomic, ethnic, religious, and educational factors on the practice of induced abortion in Malaysia was examined along with the relationship of induced abortion to the use of contraceptives. 135 of the women were married; 13 were unmarried. 22.3% of the women did not complete primary education, 51.4% of the women completed primary education, and 26.3% completed secondary education. 30.4% of the women were from rural areas, and the remaining 103 women lived in towns and suburbs. 62.2% of the women were housewives, 29.7% were unskilled workers, and 8.1% were skilled workers. 107 women were Buddhist, 31 were Muslims, 4 were Hindus, 2 were Catholics, 2 were Protestants, and 2 were free thinkers. There were 111 Chinese respondents, 28 Malay respondents, and 9 Indian respondents. There were 31 cases with less than 6 weeks of amenorrhea, 93 cases with 6-8 weeks of amenorrhea, 15 cases with between 8-10 weeks of amenorrhea, 7 cases of between 10-12 weeks of amenorrhea, and 2 cases with more than 12 weeks of amenorrhea. Only 53 patients (35.8%) practiced contraception of 1 kind or another. Of this group, the partners of 26 women used condoms, 9 practiced coitus interruptus, 5 used oral contraceptives (OCs), 2 used parenteral contraception, 2 used the traditional method, and the husband of 1 woman had had a vasectomy. The remaining 95 cases (64.2%) who did not use contraception gave the following reasons: side effects of contraception; fear of ill effects of contraception; ignorance of effective contraceptive methods; inconvenience; and husband's refusal for no apparent reason. 83 patients were practicing effective contraception at the time of the interview. Of these, 42 were using OCs, the partners of 24 used condoms, 10 used the IUD, 5 were getting parenteral contraceptives, and 2 had had a tubal ligation. 27 patients indicated at the interview their intention to use contraception after the induced abortion, but they did not indicate the contraceptive method. The remaining 38 patients were not willing nor did they use any effective contraception. Deferring childbirth and limiting family size were 85.8% of the reasons for abortion. There was no significant difference between women deferring childbirth and women limiting family size when comparing the racial, religious characteristics, the period of amenorrhea, occupation, and marital status.