Patients’ experiences of termination of pregnancy at a regional hospital in Durban, South Africa

Abstract

Background. Safe and effective termination of pregnancy (ToP) services have helped to resolve the uncertainty that surrounds unwantedpregnancies globally and in South Africa (SA). It is important to determine the demographic profile of women requesting ToP and to assessthe reasons for ToP and the beliefs and experiences of women seeking these services in order to improve service delivery.Objectives. To determine the sociodemographic profile and emotional and psychological experiences of women undergoing ToP at aregional hospital in Durban, SA.Methods. The study population consisted of women seeking either medical or surgical ToP at the Addington Hospital ToP clinic from Juneto August 2021. The participants were requested to complete a structured self-reporting questionnaire on their sociodemographics, theirawareness of, attitude to and knowledge of ToP, and their reasons for seeking ToP services, as well as contraception method and use. Thequestionnaire also captured their experience after the ToP was completed.Results. Of the 246 participants, the majority (92.3%) were aged 16 - 35 years, with 62.6% having little or no income and dependent ontheir family or partner for financial support. Most of the participants (73.2%) were parous and had secondary education and above (94.3%).Furthermore, 59.0% of the participants indicated they were not on any form of contraception before becoming pregnant, even though 70.3%of them were single. The most cited reasons for ToP were lack of finance (37.5%), schooling (33.9%), and not feeling ready to be a parent(20.0%). Although some participants (35.7%) were fearful of ToP, most of them (78.0%) reported feeling relieved after the procedure.Conclusion. Unemployment and financial dependency appeared to be common reasons for seeking ToP in our study population. Most ofthe women were single and many had not used any contraception prior to the pregnancy.