Reduction of maternal mortality: a joint WHO/UNFPA/UNICEF/World Bank Statement

Abstract

Every year about 20 million women undergo the hazards of an unsafely induced abortion. About 70.000 of them die as a result, and millions more suffer lOng-term morbidity and disability. In addition, an estimated 5 million women require care for spontaneous second-trimester abortion. Almost all the deaths, and much of the morbidity associated with abortion, could be prevented if the women had access to appropriate health care and family planning services. Emergency care for the complications of abortion, whether sponteneous or induced, should be available 24 hours a day in every health care system

This publication contains guidelines for improving the quality and availability of such care, as part of a primary health care system, and sets out the standards of safety and quality that should be met by elective abortion services. It also considers how unsafe abortion and its consequences can be prevented through education, family planning and improved access to health services. The information given here is intended to assist national and local managers in establishing, implementing and evaluating women's health care. The guidelines are meant to be flexible and to be adapted to the social and cultural circumstances of each country