Unintended pregnancy and induced abortion among unmarried women in China: a systematic review

Qian, X., Tang, Shenglan and Garner, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0607-6941 (2004) 'Unintended pregnancy and induced abortion among unmarried women in China: a systematic review'. BMC Health Services Research, Vol 4, Issue 1.

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Abstract

Background: Until recently, premarital examination for both men and women was a legal requirement before marriage in China. Researchers have carried out surveys of attendees' sexual activity, pregnancy and abortion before their marriages, trying to map out reproductive health needs in China, according to this unique population-based data. To systematically identify, appraise and summarise all available studies documenting pregnancy and induced abortion among unmarried Chinese women attending premarital examinations.
Methods: We searched the Chinese Biomedical Literature Index from 1978 to 2002; PUBMED; and EMBASE. Trials were assessed and data extracted by two people independently.
Results: Nine studies, of which seven were conducted in the urban areas, one in the rural areas, and one in both urban and rural areas, met the inclusion criteria. In the seven studies in urban areas, the majority of unmarried women had experienced sexual intercourse, with estimates ranging from 54% to 82% in five studies. Estimates of a previous pregnancy ranged from 12% to 32%. Abortion rates were high, ranging between 11 to 55% in 8 studies reporting this, which exclude the one rural study. In the three studies reporting both pregnancy and abortion, most women who had become pregnant had an induced abortion ( range 86% to 96%). One large rural study documented a lower low pregnancy rate (20%) and induced abortion rate (0.8%).
Conclusions: There is a large unmet need for temporary methods of contraception in urban areas of China.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/4/1
Subjects:	WA Public Health > Health Problems of Special Population Groups > WA 309 Women's health WQ Obstetrics > WQ 100 General works WQ Obstetrics > WQ 20 Research (General) WQ Obstetrics > Pregnancy > WQ 200 General works WQ Obstetrics > Obstetric Surgical Procedures > WQ 440 Induction of labor. Therapeutic abortion. Techniques of induced abortion
Digital Object Identifer (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-4-1
Depositing User:	Sarah Lewis-Newton
Date Deposited:	07 Feb 2012 15:59
Last Modified:	07 Jun 2022 11:09
URI:	https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/2129

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