Summary

In this Study Session, you have learned that:

• An unintended pregnancy is a pregnancy that is mistimed, unplanned, or unwanted at the time of conception. It can result from not using contraceptives, contraceptive failure and rape.
• Unwanted pregnancy can results in severe, long-term negative health effects like infertility and death.
• Abortion is the termination of pregnancy before fetal viability, which is conventionally taken to be less than 28 weeks from the last normal menstrual period.
• Unsafe abortion can result in infection, haemorrhage, injury to reproductive organs, intestinal perforation, and toxic reactions to substances or drugs used to induce abortion. These complications can lead to infertility or even death.
• Abortion is legal in Ethiopia only under certain conditions, which include cases of rape, incest or fetal impairment; if the mother's life or her child's life is in danger, if she is unable to bring up the child owing to her status as a minor (less than 18 years old) or to a physical or mental infirmity or illness.
• Post abortion care includes emergency treatment of abortion and potentially life-threatening complications, post abortion family planning counselling and services and linkage between post-abortion emergency services and reproductive health care system.