article · Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
A study conducted across two reference hospitals in Yaounde, Cameroon, evaluated the epidemiological and clinical profiles of women presenting with abortions between November 2022 and May 2023. Out of 1,882 gynaecological emergency admissions, abortion cases accounted for 9.6 percent. Most participants were single, aged 25 to 29 years, and housewives. Spontaneous abortions represented 75 percent of the documented cases, while induced abortions made up the remaining quarter. Bleeding was the primary symptom upon admission, recorded in over 70 percent of patients. A history of previous abortion was reported by 30.5 percent of the women, and nearly a fifth conceived while using contraception, predominantly male condoms. Following care, the uptake of modern post-abortion contraception prior to discharge remained low at 31.7 percent, while the overall mortality rate was recorded at 1.2 percent.
Abortion remains a significant contributor to maternal mortality in Cameroon. Understanding the demographic characteristics, reasons for termination, and patterns of contraceptive failure provides essential clinical data. These findings highlight ongoing gaps in reproductive healthcare, particularly the need to improve the delivery and uptake of effective family planning methods following emergency hospital admissions.
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Abortion is one of the leading causes of maternal death in Cameroon, despite numerous policies and strategies put in place to reduce it by 2030.This study aims to describe the epidemiologic aspects of abortions within hospitals in the city of Yaoundé in 2023. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study with prospective data collection in the maternity wards of the Yaoundé Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital, and the Yaoundé Central Hospital for 7 months, from the 1st of November 2022 to the 31st of May 2023. The variables studied were demographic and clinical characteristics, means of recourse and post-abortion contraception. The frequency of abortions was calculated as the ratio of the number of abortions to the number of deliveries. The calculation of numbers and frequencies was used to describe the study population, and to highlight the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the patients recruited. Quantitative variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation. Data were collected numerically and classified according to type, then analyzed using Epi-info version 7.2 software. Microsoft Office Excel 2013 was used to produce figures and tables. Results: During the study period, 169 patients were selected out of 1882 patients who had consulted for gynaecological emergencies; but only 164 of them accepted to participate. The frequency of abortions was 9.6% (169/1882). The age group of 25 to 29 years was the most represented, with 29.3% (48/164). They were mainly single 76.2% (125/164), and housewives 33.5% (55/164). The notion of previous abortion was found in 30.5% (50/164) of them. Approximately 19.5% of patients (32/164) reported to have conceived while using contraception, 56.2% of whom (18/32) used male condoms. At the time of admission to the emergency unit, the predominant symptom was bleeding in 70.7% of cases. The abortions were mainly spontaneous, in 75% of cases (123/164). In cases of induced abortions, 24.4% (10/41) of them took place after 14 weeks. Unexpected pregnancy was the main reason for termination in 46.3% of cases (19/41). Regarding induced abortion, 58.54% (24/41) of them resorted to voluntary medical termination. The mortality rate was 1.2%. The acceptability rate of a modern contraceptive method before discharge was 31.7%. Conclusion: Although frequent in our environment, data relating to abortion remain under-evaluated. Abortions occur mainly among young, single women, with a still very high proportion of induced abortions. The acceptability of post-abortion contraception remains poor. Prevention of unwanted pregnancies and risk factors is necessary to reduce the burden of abortions in low-income countries.
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DOI: 10.4236/ojog.2025.151009
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