Abortion in adolescence: who committed in Maceió?

Abstract

The objective if this quantitative and cross study is to characterize female teenagers, from 12 to 19 years old, that committed abortion, in a representative random sample of 2592 adolescents in Maceió, in 2005. There were found 149 abortions, where most of them (81,9%) did not have a job, (85%) lived with the parents, (85,2%) were single, (69,8%) studied in a public school and (70,5%) were in high school. The majority had one abortion 93 % , but it stands out that 8,5 % of them aborted twice and 2,6% four times, showing this data the inadequate attention to teenagers reproductive health. In order to have an abortion, 63,8% of them had support, 83,9% did not have physical complications and 89,3% did not need hospitalization. The conclusion is that the teenagers are getting pregnant and still attending school, looking for abortion as a solution for a not planned pregnancy and that the lack of need of hospitalization post abortion contributes to the statics lack. Descriptors: teenager, sexuality, pregnancy, abortion.