REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PROGRAM (EBERT)
Reducing Unsafe Abortion

Postabortion Care Research

Women who experience complications from a miscarriage or incomplete abortion are among the most neglected of all reproductive health care patients. In addition to the generally poor quality of medical care available to them, client-provider communications are substandard, and counseling on the procedure and recuperation is rarely provided. Too often, scant attention is paid to the patient's other health problems—including the need for contraceptives.

Population Council research on postabortion care includes both clinical studies aimed at reducing morbidity and mortality, as well as work on policy-related aspects of this issue through involvement in the Postabortion Care Consortium. Several clinical trials of misoprostol have been launched to help identify the best regimen for a number of indications, including treatment of early pregnancy failure. To date, there is a lack of conclusive data to determine the best regimen, although anecdotal evidence and several qualitative studies has shown that there is considerable variation in the ways providers currently use the drug for ob/gyn indications.

Population Council staff have also developed innovative computerized, self-analyzing monitoring and evaluation tools to improve assessment and quality of postabortion care (PAC) services. This, and other computerized, simple reproductive health program monitoring and evaluation tools are available in English, French, and Spanish and can be downloaded free of charge (Computer-based Tools)

• Misoprostol for treatment of miscarriage
  Use of misoprostol to treat miscarriage, often called incomplete abortion, has the potential to improve maternal health care globally. If a safe, effective, and acceptable misoprostol regimen for this indication is identified, this may warrant the inclusion of misoprostol into standard postabortion care “kits” worldwide. Interim research results indicate that misoprostol might avert the need for surgery for about nine out of ten women with incomplete abortion. Pilot studies in Thailand, Uganda, and Vietnam assessing misoprostol regimens for incomplete abortion have shown that misoprostol is an effective and acceptable non-surgical means of treating this condition.

• Misoprostol for postpartum hemorrhage prevention
  For more information on misoprostol for other indications see Preventing Postpartum Hemorrhage in Gambia.

• Postabortion Care Consortium
  The Postabortion Care (PAC) Consortium is a collaborative network of several agencies that work to inform the reproductive health community about health concerns related to unsafe abortion, and to promote postabortion care as an effective strategy for addressing this global problem. Population Council researchers are involved in the PAC Consortium as members of the Advisory Group, Communication Task Force, and Safe Motherhood Task Force, and Council staff work on the editorial committee of the newsletter and website. The PAC Consortium recently finalized its expanded PAC model to include community and service provider partnership and counseling as additional PAC strategies. Other related activities as part of the Consortium’s communications strategy included a semi-annual publication of a newsletter. (See Postabortion Care: Lessons from Operations Research in Publications/Resources and Postabortion Care Consortium in Offsite Links below.)

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This page updated 25 August 2005

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