A study [1]conducted by the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and published in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care has shown that women using an implant or an injectable form of contraception after an initial abortion are more likely than others to undergo another abortion within two to five years of the first one.
The study showed that the rate of abortions was higher in women using the implant for three years and the injection for three months[2]. Although scientists emphasise that these methods are effective, they attribute the abortions to interruptions in contraception because of side effects.
- Out of 13,621 women who had one abortion, 23.4% had another abortion in the long term.
- Under 20 year-olds who had an abortion were six times more likely to have another abortion later on.
- Women who had more than one abortion were more likely to use an implant rather than another form of contraceptive.
- Women who had already given birth twice by the time of the abortion were 1.51 times more likely to have another abortion than those who had only undergone an abortion.
[1]The study was conducted retrospectively throughout Great Britain and used data from the 1997-2003 period saved in the NHS Termination of Pregnancy Database for the Grampian region in Scotland.
[2]Implants and the Depo-Provera injection are part of the long-term reversible contraception portfolio and are methods often chosen by women after an abortion
Eurekalert (10/12/2015) – The National (10/12/2015)