Abortion in Thailand

Nongluk Boonthai, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand
Suwanna Warakamin

A cross-sectional study method was used to collect data in 1999. The sample was women entered 787 public hospitals in Thailand with symptoms related to spontaneous or induced abortion. Of the total 45,990 cases, 28.5% were considered to be induced abortion (19.54 per 1,000 live-births). Among these cases, 46.8% were adolescents, 30 % were under 20 years of age. The main reason cited for inducing abortion was socio-economic problems (60.2%). The major serious complications were septicemia with 14 deaths (0.11%). When data from interviewing all 4,588 cases, 40.4% were classified as induced abortions, 11.9% of which were self-attempted. The methods used for the abortive purpose included insertion of foreign substances or injection of a liquid solution into the vaginal canal, vaginal suppository, oral tablets and strong manual compression of lower abdomen. As a result, 40 % of the cases had serious complications and even deaths of five cases (0.3%).