Contraceptive practice among women seeking legal abortion in the Scottish Highlands.

Abstract

There has been a large increase in legal abortions in England in the last 10 years. The cause can be partially attributed to the decline in use of various contraceptive methods, particularly pills and IUD's. the statistics presented pertain to patients seeking abortion in the Scottish Highlands and include single and married women from 15-40 years of age. Of these women, 80% had 1st trimester abortions, and the other 20% had abortions between the 12-18 weeks of pregnancy. 25% were married, 13% divorced or separated, and 62% single. 64% of these women did not use any birth control method at the time of the unwanted pregnancies, and 74% were under 27 years of age. Fill failure occurred in 19% of cases and condom failure in 10%, with the remaining failures attributed to IUD's, caps, and diaphragms. Other factors causing increased numbers of abortions are economic conditions and reductions in family planning clinics. In this area local doctors are the main source of family planning information and services. Since most of these cases are young unmarried women, the need for better access to family planning education and birth control is obvious. The number of women of all ages not using contraceptives shows a need for reevaluation of family planning services for all age groups.