About the research
Internationally, research has found several distinctions between the women who have multiple abortions compared to those who have one in a lifetime, however similar research on British women remains sparse. Two researchers from the University of Southampton’s Centre for Sexual Health Research have been attempting to build a profile of the women who experience more than one pregnancy termination in Great Britain.
After using a sample of women from a national survey on sexual attitudes and lifestyles, the researchers were able to identify the major characteristics of women who present themselves for more than one abortion in a lifetime. These women were more likely to be younger at their first sexual experience and had been poor users of contraception at their sexual debut. They were also more likely to have had a greater number of sexual partners, to have left schooling at an earlier age, and to be black. Attendance at abortion services presents a unique opportunity for the provision of individually tailored support to assist women avoid the need for subsequent procedures. The findings of this study can assist abortion providers in building a distinctive profile of women who are likely to present on more than one occasion.
Methodology
This research used a sample of 5,625 women aged between 16 and 44 who had engaged in sexual intercourse on at least one occasion and were therefore exposed to a risk of pregnancy. Variables extracted from the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles II data were demographic information, lifestyle, sexual initiation, sexual history, contraceptive use and pregnancy history. Initially these were examined to identify their impact on the incidence of abortion and repeat abortions. Subsequently, logistic regression models were used to explore the factors that predict women who have one termination of pregnancy and then go on to experience a second or subsequent abortion.
Publications
Stone, N., and Ingham, R. (2011) ‘Who presents more than once? Repeat abortions among women in Britain’, Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, 37, pp. 209-215. doi: 10.1136/jfprhc-2011-0063