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Medical Abortion: The Tunisian Experience

Selma Hajri(1),


(1) 
Corresponding Author

Abstract


This paper reports the Tunisian experience of medical abortion. The project started in 1998 with a small introductory study at the obstetric and gynaecology department of a university hospital and was later extended step by step to other family planning and public health centres that provided abortion services. The study was first conducted on 264 women using the modified regimen of 200mg mifepristone, followed 48 hours later by 400µg misoprostol in women seeking pregnancy of maximum 56 days of amenorrhoea. This gave a success rate of 91.1%. Results from further studies in other locations showed increasing success rates of 94.4% and 95.6%, with high acceptability and satisfaction among users and providers. The registration and effective introduction of medical abortion was quite rapid. Following successful conduct of the pilot study, intervention programmes were designed and implemented to improve the capacity of providers in providing safe medical abortion. (Afr J Reprod Health 2004; 8[1]:63-69)

 

Keywords: Medical abortion, Tunisia, mifepristone, misoprostol, simplified regimen


References


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Obermeyer CM. Culture, maternal health care, and women's status: a comparison of Morocco and Tunisia. Stud FamPlann 1993; 24: 354-365.

La Situation Démographique - Le Programme National de la Santé de la Reproduction - Situation actuelle et perspectives» PrNabihaGueddana publication de l'ONFP - Ed 2001.

World Health Organization Task Force on Post-Ovulatory Methods of Fertility Regulation. Comparison of two doses of mifepristone in combination with misoprostol for early abortion: a randomized trial. Br J ObstetGynecol 2000; 107: 524-530.

Elul B, Hajri S, Ngoc N, et al. Can women in developing countries use a simplified medical abortion regimen of 200mg mifepristone followed by home administration of misoprostol? The Lancet 2001; 357: 1402-05.

Blum J, Hajri S, Chélli H, Ben Mansour F, Gueddana N and Winikoff B. The medical abortion experiences of married and unmarried women in Tunis, Tunisia. Contraception 2004; 69: 63-69.

The Population Council. Medical methods of early abortion in developing countries. Consensus statement. Contraception 1998; 58: 257-259.


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