Volodymyr Podolskyi
Speeches:
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Postabortion contraception in Ukraine: a pilot study
Volodymyr Podolskyi1, Kristina Gemzell-Danielsson2, Lena Marions1 1Institute of Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kiev, Ukraine, 2Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, 3Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden - podolskyivv@gmail.com
Background: The abortion rate in Ukraine is high and the use of effective contraceptive methods is low. Aiming to explore women’s knowledge and attitudes towards modern contraceptive methods, we performed a survey among women undergoing surgical pregnancy termination in the first trimester. Material and Methods: A survey was provided in the Maternity House №6, Kiev Ukraine. The aim is to include 300 eligible women and the present data represent a pilot analysis of 30 women. The study was approved by the Ukrainian Ethical Committee, Kiev Results: Mean age was 27 years, 63% were married, 47% had graduated from college. A majority of the women (27/30) had given birth at least once. Only 2 women were pregnant for the first time. Seventeen women had performed at least one abortion earlier and almost half of the women (14/30) had experienced at least 2 abortions. Fourteen women wanted to have more children whilst the remaining 16 women stated they never wanted to have more children. Most women (26/30) had heard about contraceptive pills but only 13/30 were aware of intrauterine devices. Weight gain, future infertility were reported by the women as reasons for not using hormonal contraceptive methods. Previous experience of contraceptive methods included condoms (25/30), contraceptive pills (10/30) and IUD (5/30). Thirteen women had never heard about emergency contraceptive pills. Conclusion: Our pilot study indicates that Ukrainian women presenting with an unwanted pregnancy have an unmet need for long-lasting effective contraceptive methods. Repeat abortions were common among women included in our study. They showed insufficient knowledge regarding effective methods and expressed misconceptions regarding side effects of hormonal contraception methods. There is a need for education among fertile women and future studies need to explore whether insufficient knowledge also is prevalent among healthcare providers.