Postabortion care

Every 90 seconds a woman in the developing world dies from complications of pregnancy and childbirth^[i], every twelve minutes, from complications of unsafe abortion.^[ii]

Incomplete abortion—both spontaneous miscarriage and induced—is a significant public health problem. It is estimated that around 67,000 women die unnecessarily each year from abortion-related complications, the equivalent of 13% of all maternal deaths.^[ii] Uncounted millions more women suffer debilitating illness and infertility. Complications of unsafe abortion constitute the second leading cause of maternal mortality after postpartum hemorrhage throughout the developing world.^[ii]

At the invitation of leading medical professionals and ministries of health, VSI works to expand access to misoprostol as a component of postabortion care (PAC). PAC is a package of services including treatment, counseling, and provision of voluntary family planning methods. Misoprostol is an effective means to save a woman’s life after she experiences complications from miscarriage or unsafe abortion—and considered an essential medicine by the World Health Organization for management of incomplete abortion and miscarriage.

To date, VSI has successfully brought a misoprostol product to market for treatment of incomplete abortion and miscarriage in Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania.

The "Doctor of Mtwango Village"

A woman from Iringa region was bleeding profusely when she sought treatment at the local health center. Despite the center’s best efforts she was still weak and bleeding and was referred to the nearest hospital. The family was panicked, looking for a means to transport the woman the long distance in her precarious state. While they were searching for transport they were fortunate to meet Dorcas, a midwife with the Private Nurse Midwives Association of Tanzania (PRINMAT), who had received training from VSI on maternal health services. Concerned, she asked them what was wrong and they narrated the woman’s story. She urged them to go with her to her clinic where she immediately gave the woman three tablets of misoprostol—effective treatment for complications due to incomplete abortion and miscarriage.

The woman is recovering well and Dorcas’s community has named her an honorary “doctor of Mtwango village” for she alone was able to treat a case that could not be treated at the health center—with three simple tablets.

Postabortion care

Every 90 seconds a woman in the developing world dies from complications of pregnancy and childbirth[i], every twelve minutes, from complications of unsafe abortion.[ii]

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The "Doctor of Mtwango Village"

Every 90 seconds a woman in the developing world dies from complications of pregnancy and childbirth^[i], every twelve minutes, from complications of unsafe abortion.^[ii]