This one may come as a shock to those conservative types who believe that telling hormone-riddled teens to ‘just say no’ actually does anything to promote their sexual health:
Researchers debunk study linking abortions to mental health issues
safe-legal-abortion-is-prolife:
“Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and The Guttmacher Institute debunked a 2009 study in the Journal of Psychiatric Research linking abortions to mental health issues.
In a press release Monday morning, the editor of the journal agreed with the new analysis that found fundamental analytical errors in the study. UCSF’s Julia Steinberg and Guttmacher’s Lawrence Finer sent the editor a letter in the March 2012 edition of the journal, chastising the original study’s top figure, Priscilla Coleman, and her colleagues’ work for fundamental analytical errors.
“This is not a scholarly difference of opinion, their facts were flatly wrong,” Steinberg said. “This was an abuse of the scientific process to reach conclusions that are not supported by the data. The shifting explanations and misleading statements that they offered over the past two years served to mask their serious methodological errors.”
The press release also slammed Coleman’s work, citing that she chose to draw conclusions despite not distinguishing “between mental health outcomes that occurred before abortions and those that occurred afterward.”Anti-abortion activists have cited Coleman’s research as helping in their propaganda, with the faulty information also spread by federally and state-funded crisis pregnancy centers.”
shocking…
(via ladyatheist)
Are You In The Know? [Teens Edition]
The term “teens” refers to 15–19-year-olds, unless otherwise specified.
[All of these statistics are cis-centric, unfortunately.]
Sexual Activity and Marriage Among Teens:
- When American teens have sex for the first time, is it typically with a significant other or a more casual acquaintance? Seven in 10 female teens and more than five in 10 male teens report that their first sexual experience was with a steady partner, while 16% of females and 28% of males report a first sexual experience with someone whom they had just met or who was just a friend.[48]
- What is known about the age at first sex among female teens in developing regions? In Latin America and the Caribbean, more than four in 10 sexually active female teens have had sex by their 18th birthday. In Sub-Saharan Africa, six in 10 female teens have had sex by that age.[49]
- Are teen marriage rates similar throughout the developing world? No. The poorer the country or region in the developing world, the greater the chances are that female teens are married. [13,50] An estimated four in 10 women aged 15–19 living in low-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Central and Southeast Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean are married, compared with slightly more than one in 10 in upper-middle– and high-income countries in these regions.
Contraceptive Use Among Teens:
- Do American teens typically use a contraceptive method the first time they have sex? How about the most recent time they had sex? The majority of U.S. teens use a contraceptive method the first time they have sex (78% of females and 85% of males).[48] Among teens who are already sexually active, more than eight in 10 female teens and nine in 10 male teens reported using a method the last time they had sex.
- Which contraceptive method is most commonly used by American teens? The male condom is the most common contraceptive method used at first sex, as well as at most recent sex. Almost seven in 10 U.S. females and eight in 10 males used condoms the first time they had sex, and more than five in 10 female teens and almost eight in 10 male teens used it the last time they had sex.[48]
- How do American teens’ sexual behaviors compare with those of European teens? Teens in the United States and Europe have similar levels of sexual activity. However, European teens are more likely to use contraceptives and to use more effective contraceptive methods; therefore, they have substantially lower pregnancy rates than U.S. teens.[51]
- Do teens in developing regions have adequate access to contraceptives? No. Fewer than one-third of married female teens who want to avoid pregnancy use modern contraceptive methods. Among unmarried teens who want to avoid pregnancy, almost seven out of 10 in South Central and Southeast Asia and in Sub-Saharan Africa, and almost half in Latin America, do not use modern contraceptive methods.[13,50]
- Do any U.S. states give minors confidential access to contraceptive services? Half of states explicitly allow minors to obtain contraceptive services without a parent’s involvement or interpret the absence of a law in favor of minors’ access.[52] The remaining states allow access to contraceptive services without parental involvement only for certain groups of minors, such as married teens.
- What impact could U.S. parental involvement laws have on minors’ contraceptive use? While parental involvement can be helpful for some minors, others will remain sexually active but will not seek contraceptive services if they are required to tell their parents,[53] which puts them at increased risk for unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
- Do sexually active teens in the United States have a need for publicly funded contraceptive services? Some five million U.S. teens are in need of publicly funded contraceptive services and supplies. They represent about 30% of all U.S. women with such a need. Many sexually active teens need publicly funded contraceptive services so that they can obtain confidential care without having to depend on their family’s resources or their private insurance.[8]
Pregnancy and Births Among Teens:
- What is the teen pregnancy rate in the United States? Overall, about 70 pregnancies occur for every 1,000 female teens. However, when only female teens who have ever had sex, the pregnancy rate is much higher, about 150 per 1,000.[54]
- Is there a difference in teen pregnancy rates between older and younger teens in the United States? Yes. Two-thirds of all U.S. teen pregnancies occur among 18–19-year-olds. The pregnancy rate for younger teens is almost 40 per 1,000 women aged 15–17, while the rate for teens aged 18–19 is nearly 120 per 1,000 women.[54]
- Does the teen pregnancy rate vary by race in the United States? Yes. The U.S. pregnancy rate for both black and Hispanic teens (126 and 127 per 1,000 women aged 15–19, respectively) is almost three times that of non-Hispanic white teens (44 per 1,000).[54]
- Do teen fatherhood rates vary by race in the United States? Yes. The U.S. rate of fatherhood among black men aged 15–19 (34 per 1,000) is more than twice that among white men (15 per 1,000).[55]
- What proportion of American teen pregnancies are unintended? Of the approximately 750,000 pregnancies that occur among teens every year, more than 80% are unintended.[54] Teens account for almost one-fifth of all unintended pregnancies.[26] [Prolonged Eye Contact comment: one more reason to make emergency contraception available to younger teenagers over the counter without a prescription.]
- Is the rate of unintended pregnancy among American teens higher or lower than that among older women? Calculations of the unintended pregnancy rate typically include all women, whether or not they are sexually active. While most older women are sexually active, many teens are not, so the rate among teens is often understated.[56] The unintended pregnancy rate among sexually active teens only is more than twice the rate among all women.
- How many unintended pregnancies occur each year among teens in developing countries? Each year, there are more than six million unintended pregnancies among teens in South Central and Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean.[13]
- What are the outcomes of U.S. teen pregnancies? The majority (nearly 60%) of U.S. teen pregnancies end in birth, while 27% end in abortion and the remainder end in miscarriage.[54]
- Which countries have the most teen births? Worldwide, half of all teen births each year occur in just seven countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and the United States.[57]
Abortion Among Teens:
- What proportion of all U.S. abortions occur among teens? Just 17% of all U.S. abortions are obtained by teenagers.[41] Teens aged 18–19 account for 11% of all abortions and 15–17-year-olds account for 6%; teens younger than age 15 account for another 0.4%. Teens aged 18–19 obtain two out of three teen abortions.
- What is the abortion rate among American teens? There are 19 abortions for every 1,000 women aged 15–19 in the United States.[54] The abortion rate is higher than average for black and Hispanic teens (44 and 24 per 1,000 women aged 15–19, respectively) and lower than average for non-Hispanic whites (11 per 1,000).
- What proportion of all unsafe abortions in the developing world occur among teens? Teens account for 14% of all unsafe abortions that occur in the developing world.[58] The number of teens in the developing world who have legal and safe abortions is unknown.[44]
- Does obtaining an abortion have an impact on U.S. teens’ mental health? Studies of U.S. teens who have had an abortion show that this group is not at higher risk for depression or low self-esteem than teens who carry their pregnancy to term.[59] Similarly, studies indicate a lack of negative mental health effect of abortion among adult women.
- Do many states have laws requiring parental involvement in teens’ abortions? The majority of states have laws that require parents to consent to or be notified of a teen’s decision to have an abortion, but only a few require both parental notification and consent. A handful of states do not require any parental involvement. [60]
- What is the effect of laws requiring parental involvement in teens’ abortions? Laws requiring parental involvement in minors’ abortions appear to do little to reduce teen abortion or pregnancy rates.[61] These laws do, however, force some teens to navigate complicated judicial bypass systems to obtain waivers, or to seek abortions in a state without such requirements. These barriers delay access to the procedure, reducing safety and resulting in later, more costly abortions.
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) Among Teens:
- How does the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among young people in the United States compare with that among older adults? Even though young people aged 15–24 represent only about 25% of sexually active Americans, they account for nearly half of all new STIs annually. Every year, roughly nine million new STIs occur among U.S. teens and young adults.[62] Rates among U.S. teens are much higher than rates among teens in Canada and Western Europe.[63]
- Do many states give minors access to STI services without parental involvement? All 50 states and the District of Columbia give minors access to services related to sexually transmitted infections without parental involvement, although more than 10 states require that a minor be of a certain age (generally 12 or 14) to do so.[64]
Sources of Information About Sex:
- Who do American teens trust the most for information on sex? American teens rank parents, peers and the media as important sources of sexual health information.[65]
- Do U.S. states require that formal sex education curricula be medically accurate? Only a handful of states require that the information presented in sex education classes be medically accurate and factual (14 states, as of October 2011).[66]
- What subjects are usually included in formal U.S. sex education curricula? Virtually all teens receive formal instruction about STIs, and more than eight in 10 receive instruction on abstinence. However, about one-third of teens do not receive any instruction about contraception.[67]
- Do U.S. teens who receive abstinence education also receive information about birth control? Not always. About one in four teens (23% of females and 28% of males) receive abstinence education without receiving any formal instruction about birth control.[68]
- Worldwide, do teens get comprehensive sex education in schools or other formal settings? Most often they do not. Teens in many parts of the world do not get comprehensive sex education. Many also report feeling shy about obtaining information and contraception from formal settings, particularly in countries where some influential groups believe that such education encourages sexual promiscuity.[69]
- What impact does comprehensive sex education have on teen sexual behavior worldwide? Comprehensive sex education, which includes information on both contraception and abstinence, often results in delayed sexual activity, lower frequency of sex and fewer sexual partners.[49] This type of sex education can also increase condom or contraceptive use and reduce risky sexual behaviors. Receiving comprehensive sex education does not lead teens to have sex earlier.
- What impact does abstinence-only sex education have on teens? A review of 13 commonly used abstinence-only curricula found that 11 had incorrect, misleading or distorted information.[70] Some abstinence-only programs have been shown to deter contraceptive use among sexually active teens, increasing their risk of pregnancy and STIs.[67] Moreover, there is no strong evidence that abstinence-only programs influence teens to delay sexual activity, to have fewer sexual partners or, if already sexually active, to become abstinent.[71]
prolongedeyecontact asked: They provide 4 million breast exams and 70,000 mammogram referrals each year. Using Komen grants: 170,000 + 6,400 respectively. They never claimed to provide mammograms on-site nationwide. They give low-income people ACCESS to the procedure and then pay for it with Komen $ if need be. PP’s not lying, antis are just being misleading as if access isn’t a big deal for people in poverty. And as of last year some PPs DID provide mammograms. mediamattersDOTorg/research/201202030006
Just wanted this on my own blog :) Here’s the link I mentioned from Media Matters.
(Source: keepyourbsoutofmyuterus)
Are You In The Know? [Pregnancy Edition]
[All of these statistics are cis-centric, unfortunately.]
- How many pregnancies occur each year worldwide? Each year, more than 208 million pregnancies occur worldwide; 185 million occur in the developing world alone. Worldwide, almost two in five women who become pregnant have either an abortion or an unplanned birth.[24]
- How many women die each year from pregnancy-related causes? Worldwide, an estimated 358,000 women die from pregnancy-related causes each year, with about 355,000 of those deaths occurring in developing countries. The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among developed countries (1,000 maternal deaths per year) and accounts for nearly 60% of all maternal deaths in the developed world.[25]
- What proportion of pregnancies worldwide are unintended? More than 40% of pregnancies worldwide are unintended. Roughly half of these pregnancies end in induced abortion. The proportion of unintended pregnancies ending in abortion is higher in more developed countries (53%) than in less developed countries (48%).[24]
- How many pregnancies occur in the United States each year? About 6.7 million pregnancies occur in the United States each year.[26] Nearly two-thirds of all pregnancies result in live births and about one-fifth in abortion; the remainder end in miscarriage.[27]
- What proportion of pregnancies in the United States are unintended? Nearly half of all U.S. pregnancies are unintended (49%); about 43% of these end in abortion.[26]
- Have levels of unintended pregnancy in the United States changed in recent years? Following a considerable decline in the overall U.S. unintended pregnancy rate between 1981 and 1994, the rate has remained essentially flat: About 5% of U.S. women still have an unintended pregnancy every year.[26]
- Which groups of women in the United States are most likely to experience an unintended pregnancy? In the United States, unintended pregnancy rates are higher among poor and low-income women, women aged 18–24, cohabiting women and minority women, compared with higher-income women, white women, college graduates and married women.[26]
- How does unintended pregnancy vary by state? More than half of pregnancies are unintended in 29 states and the District of Columbia. Rates of unintended pregnancy are generally highest in the South and Southwest, and in states with large urban populations.[28] And, in every state, the proportion of unintended pregnancies that were mistimed (65-75%) is much larger than the proportion that were unwanted (25-35%).
- How much do unintended pregnancies cost the United States each year? Unintended pregnancies cost U.S. taxpayers roughly $11 billion in public insurance expenditures for unplanned births and first-year infant health care.[29]
- What states have the highest and lowest public costs associated with unintended pregnancy? California and Texas spend the most money on births that result from unintended pregnancies—about $1.3 billion annually—while North Dakota spends the least—$21 million.[29]
Are You In The Know? [Contraception Edition]
[All of these statistics are cis-centric, unfortunately.]
Sexual Activity:
- How many women worldwide are in their childbearing years? There are nearly 1.6 billion women worldwide between the ages of 15 and 44.[1] In the United States alone, there are about 62 million.[2]
- At what age do Americans have sex for the first time? On average, Americans have sex for the first time at age 17.[3,4]
- At what age do most Americans get married? The median age at first marriage is 28 for men and 26 for women.[5]
- How common is premarital sex in the United States? By age 44, 95% of Americans have had premarital sex.[6] The vast majority of Americans have sex before marriage—including those who abstained from sex during their teenage years—and this has been the case for decades. Even among women who were born in the 1940s, nearly nine in 10 had sex before marriage.
Contraceptive Use:
- How many children do most women in the United States want? The typical American woman wants two children. This means that she’ll spend about five years pregnant, postpartum or trying to become pregnant, and roughly three decades—more than three-quarters of her reproductive life—trying to avoid pregnancy.[7]
- How many women in the United States need contraceptives? More than half of U.S. women (nearly 36 million) are in need of contraceptive services because they are at risk for unintended pregnancy, meaning they are sexually active, are able to get pregnant and want to avoid pregnancy.[8]
- Do most women in the United States use contraceptives? Virtually all women in the United States aged 15–44 who have ever had sex have used at least one contraceptive method (99%). Currently, only 7% of sexually active women who are at risk for unintended pregnancy are not using contraceptives.[8]
- Does contraceptive use vary by race and ethnicity in the United States? Yes. Among U.S. women who could become pregnant, about 84% of non-Hispanic black women currently use a contraceptive method, compared with about 91% of non-Hispanic white and Hispanic women.[9]
- Is contraceptive use common among religious women in the United States? Yes. Among sexually active U.S. women of all religious denominations who want to avoid pregnancy, almost seven in 10 use a highly effective method (i.e., sterilization, the pill or another hormonal method, or the IUD). For example, 98% of sexually experienced Catholic women have used a contraceptive method other than natural family planning. Use of contraception does not vary by attendance of religious services.[10]
- How effective are contraceptives at preventing unintended pregnancy? When used correctly, contraceptives are highly effective. The two-thirds of U.S. women at risk of unintended pregnancy who use contraceptives consistently and correctly throughout the course of any given year account for only 5% of all unintended pregnancies.[11]
- Is breast-feeding an effective form of contraception? Breast-feeding is considered an effective contraceptive method only for women who breast-feed exclusively (that is, they do not supplement with formula), and only for up to six months after giving birth or until menstruation resumes—whichever is shorter.[12]
- How many women in the developing world want to avoid pregnancy but do not use modern contraceptives? In the developing world, one in four sexually active women who are at risk for unintended pregnancy—a total of 215 million women—do not use a modern contraceptive method. These women account for 82% of all unintended pregnancies in the developing world. Unintended pregnancy in these regions would decline by almost three-fourths if all women who wanted to avoid pregnancy were able to use modern contraceptives.[13]
- How effective are different contraceptive methods at preventing pregnancy?
[This is a screenshot of a table outlining the failure rate of various contraceptive methods with “perfect use” and “typical use.” For those with visual impairments using screen readers the information is in text form at the link in the title of this post.]
- Why do some women who use contraceptives still become pregnant? Consistent and correct use can be a challenge for women and couples. They often underestimate their risk of becoming pregnant, and life events such as a move, break-up or job change can disrupt contraceptive use. Additionally, women sometimes don’t have a method available at the time they have sex; others may not be able to obtain their preferred method in a timely manner, or at all. Even women who use their method perfectly can become pregnant, including a very small proportion who rely on highly effective hormonal methods (see table).[17]
- What are the most common forms of contraception in the United States? Sterilization (male and female combined) is the most common contraceptive method, relied on by 37% of U.S. women. Sixty-three percent of women practicing contraception use nonpermanent modern methods, including hormonal methods (such as the pill, patch, implant, injectable and vaginal ring), the IUD and condoms.[9]
- How common are modern contraceptive methods in developing regions, and which methods are relied on most? Three-quarters of women in developing countries (about 240 million women) who want to avoid pregnancy use a modern contraceptive method, including condoms. Method use varies substantially by region: Injectables and implants are the most common methods used in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (making up 38% of contraceptive use in both regions), but in South Central Asia, sterilization is the most popular method, with nearly two-thirds of all contraceptive users relying on this method.[18]
- How common is use of long-acting reversible contraceptive methods in the United States? While overall levels of use are low, reliance on IUDs and implants among women in the United States has increased significantly in the past decade. As of 2006-2008, more than 5% of U.S. women rely on the IUD—a substantial increase from 1995, when fewer than 1% used this method. Because IUDs and implants are highly effective and less prone than other methods to user error, rates of unintended pregnancy could substantially decrease if more women relied on them.[19]
- How has the recent recession impacted women’s desired family size and contraceptive use in the United States? In 2009, nearly half of U.S. women aged 18–34 said that as a result of the recession, they wanted to delay pregnancy or limit the number of children they had. But for many women, economic hardship meant having to skimp on their contraceptive use—for example, by skipping pills, shifting to a less expensive method or not using birth control at all—in order to save money.[20]
Public Funding For Contraceptive Services:
- What are the supporting sources of publicly funded contraceptive services? The Title X national family planning program and Medicaid, the joint federal-state health insurance program for low-income Americans, form the core of support for family planning services. Medicaid is the primary source of financial support and accounts for more than 70% of the funding. Title X accounts for 12% of funding for publicly funded contraceptive services in part by meeting clinics’ ongoing infrastructure needs in ways that Medicaid cannot.[11]
- How many U.S. women need publicly funded contraceptive services? More than 17 million women aged 13–44 are considered to be in need because they are at risk for unintended pregnancy and have incomes below 250% of the federal poverty level, or because they are younger than 20 years old and are assumed to have a low personal income.[8]
- What impact do publicly funded family planning services have in the United States? Publicly funded family planning services reach more than nine million women each year, helping to avert about two million unintended pregnancies (including 400,000 teen pregnancies) that would have resulted in about 860,000 unplanned births, 810,000 abortions and 270,000 miscarriages. Without these services, the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions occurring in the United States would be nearly two-thirds higher among women overall and among teens; the number of unintended pregnancies among poor women would nearly double.[11]
- How many publicly funded family planning clinics exist in the United States? What about Title X-funded clinics? There are more than 8,000 publicly funded family planning clinics nationwide, and about half are supported in part by the federal Title X program.[11]
- What would be the impact of fully meeting the developing world’s need for family planning and maternal and newborn health services? The lives of more than 1.5 million newborns and 250,000 women in the developing world would be saved each year. More than 50 million fewer women would experience unintended pregnancies, lowering the cost of providing maternal and newborn health services. Thus, fully funding both of these services simultaneously actually lowers net costs.[21]
- Are there any cost savings from providing publicly funded family planning services in the United States? Since more than nine in 10 women receiving these services would be eligible for Medicaid-funded care if they became pregnant, avoiding the significant costs associated with these unintended births saves taxpayers $4 for every $1 spent on family planning.[11]
Emergency Contraception:
- What is emergency contraception? Emergency contraception, sometimes called the “morning-after pill,” consists of a concentrated dosage of one or more of the same hormones found in ordinary birth control pills. It is not an abortifacient and has no effect on an established pregnancy. Emergency contraception is recommended as a back-up method for women who have experienced contraceptive failure (e.g., if the condom broke) or had unprotected sex, and can be effective for up to three to five days after sex, depending on the specific product (see answer below). Intrauterine devices (IUDs) can also act as a method of emergency contraception if inserted shortly after unprotected sex.[22]
- For how long is emergency contraception considered effective at preventing pregnancy, and do women and men need a prescription for it? As of October 2011, there were four FDA-approved emergency contraception products on the market. Three of these products are approved for preventing pregnancy when taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex; the other (Ella) for up to five days. Individuals younger than 17 generally need a prescription, while older women and men do not. However, Ella is only available by prescription.[22]
- How often is emergency contraception used in the United States? About one in 10 women in the U.S. aged 15–44 has ever used emergency contraception, which is about twice the proportion who used it in 2002. Additionally, American women aged 18–29, the age-group at greatest risk for unintended pregnancy, are more likely than other women to have used this back-up method.[23]
- Tagged
- prochoice
- Contraception
- birth control
- sex
- feminism
- sexual health
- Sex education
- statistics
- research
- sexual debut
- marriage
- relationships
- premarital sex
- parenting
- Religion
- pregnancy
- pregnancy prevention
- unplanned pregnancy
- breast feeding
- methods
- typical use
- failure rate
- perfect use
- economy
- poverty
- Title X
- family planning
- Emergency contraception
- EC
- Plan B
Are You In The Know? [Abortion Edition]
[These statistics are entirely cis-centric, unfortunately.]
Abortion Incidence:
- How many abortions occur each year worldwide? More than 40 million abortions are performed worldwide each year. More than 85% of all abortions occur in developing countries.[30]
- Are women in developed countries more likely to have an abortion than women in developing countries? A woman’s likelihood of having an abortion is similar whether she lives in a developed or developing country. Each year, there are 24 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 in developed countries, compared with 29 per 1,000 in developing countries.[30] At the regional level, the lowest abortion rate in the world is in Western Europe (12 per 1,000), and the highest is in Eastern Europe (43 per 1,000).
- How many abortions occur each year in the United States? There were roughly 1.2 million abortions performed in 2008, and the abortion rate was 20 per 1,000 women aged 15–44.[31] Put differently, about 2% of American women aged 15–44 had an abortion that year.
- How does the U.S. rate of abortion compare with the worldwide rate? Worldwide, there are about 28 abortions for every 1,000 women of childbearing age (15–44).[30] In the United States, there are about 20 abortions per 1,000 women.[31]
- How likely is it that a U.S. woman will obtain an abortion in her lifetime? Barring any changes in the U.S. abortion rate (as of 2008), 30% of women will have an abortion by age 45; 25% of women will have an abortion by age 30; and 8% by age 20.[32]
- Is abortion becoming more or less common in the United States? Less common. The overall U.S. abortion rate declined steadily between 1980 and 2005.[31] However, between 2005 and 2008 that overall decline stagnated, while rates increased among poor women.[32]
- How many abortions occurred before the procedure became legal throughout the United States in 1973? Estimates of the annual number of illegal abortions in the 1950s and 1960s range from 200,000 to 1.2 million.[33] Because the procedure was illegal under most circumstances in most states, women had few options aside from a dangerous, clandestine procedure. As late as 1965, illegal abortions accounted for an estimated 201 deaths in the United States—17% of all officially reported pregnancy-related deaths that year.[34]
Safety of Abortion:
- How safe is abortion? When performed under proper medical conditions by trained personnel in a hygienic setting, abortion is an extremely safe procedure. Fewer than 1% of all U.S. abortion patients experience a major complication and the risk of death associated with abortion is 10 times as low as that associated with childbirth. (34) However, when the procedure is performed by an unskilled person, or in an environment not conducive to safe medical circumstances, it is considered unsafe. The risk of death associated with unsafe abortion worldwide is 30 deaths per 100,000 live births.[35]
- Are most abortions safe or unsafe? Almost half of all abortions that occur worldwide—about 22 million in 2008—are unsafe.[35] Between 2003 and 2008, the global unsafe abortion rate remained unchanged at 14 per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years. The highest rate of unsafe procedures—36 per 1,000 women—was in Eastern and Middle Africa.
- How does the rate of unsafe abortion in developing regions compare with the rate in developed regions? The rate of unsafe abortion in developing regions is 16 times that in developed regions.[35] Unsafe abortions are rare in developed regions because the procedure is widely legal and therefore likely to be performed under safe conditions; in developing regions, where abortion is largely illegal, more than half of all abortions are unsafe.[30]
- How harmful is unsafe abortion? Complications from unsafe abortion account for an estimated 13% of maternal deaths worldwide, some 47,000 annually.[35] An estimated five million women are hospitalized each year for treatment of abortion-related complications.[36]
- How many abortion-related deaths are there in the United States each year? In 2007, six women in the United States were reported to have died as a result of abortion complications.[37]
- Does abortion lead to mental health problems for women? For two decades, the highest quality scientific evidence available has led to the conclusion that having an abortion does not cause mental health problems for most women. A woman’s mental health before she faces an unwanted pregnancy is the best indicator of her likely mental health after an abortion. [38]
Medication Abortion In The United States:
- What is medication abortion? Medication abortion, an alternative to surgical abortion, involves the administration of two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, to terminate the pregnancy. Medication abortion is an option only in the first nine weeks of pregnancy.
- How common is medication abortion in the United States? Medication abortion has become an integral part of U.S. abortion care. In 2008, medication abortion accounted for slightly more than one-quarter of all abortions performed before nine weeks’ gestation.[31]
- How many U.S. providers offer medication abortion? In 2008, almost six in 10 U.S. abortion providers (more than 1,060 facilities), provided medication abortions.[31] At least 9% of providers offered only medication abortion services.
- Has medication abortion expanded access to abortion in the United States? Because it does not involve surgery, medication abortion has the potential to make abortion services more accessible, particularly in areas without a surgical abortion provider. But research suggests that although use of mifepristone has become widespread and has contributed to the shift toward earlier abortions, its use has not yet substantially improved U.S. women’s geographic access to abortion services.[39]
Characteristics of U.S. Women Having Abortions:
- How old are most women who obtain abortions in the United States? More than half of American women obtaining abortions are in their 20s.[32] Women aged 20–24 have the highest abortion rate of any age-group (40 abortions per 1,000 women).
- How many U.S. women obtaining abortions are already mothers? Six in 10 American women having an abortion already have a child, and more than three in 10 already have two or more children.[32]
- What proportion of U.S. women obtaining abortions are religious? More than seven in 10 U.S. women obtaining an abortion report a religious affiliation (37% protestant, 28% Catholic and 7% other), and 25% attend religious services at least once a month.[38] The abortion rate for protestant women is 15 per 1,000 women, while Catholic women have a slightly higher rate, 22 per 1,000.[32]
- What is the racial or ethnic background of U.S. women who have abortions? No racial or ethnic group makes up a majority of women having abortions: 36% are non-Hispanic white, 30% are non-Hispanic black, 25% are Hispanic and 9% are women of other races.[32]
- Which racial or ethnic groups are most likely to have abortions in the United States? Non-Hispanic black and Hispanic women have higher rates of abortion (40 and 29 per 1,000 women aged 15–44, respectively) than non-Hispanic white women do (12 per 1,000).[32] The higher rates reflect the fact that black and Hispanic women have high unintended pregnancy rates (91 and 82 per 1,000 women, respectively), compared with non-Hispanic white women (36 per 1,000 women).[26]
- What proportion of abortions in the United States are among poor women? Women with family incomes below the federal poverty level ($18,530 for a family of three) account for more than 40% of all abortions.[32] They also have one of the country’s highest abortion rates (52 per 1,000 women). In contrast, higher-income women (with family incomes at or above 200% of the poverty line) have a rate of nine abortions per 1,000, which is about half the national rate.
- Why do women in the United States have abortions? Most women identify multiple reasons for having an abortion: Three-fourths cite concerns for or responsibility to other individuals, including children; three-fourths say they cannot afford a child; three-fourths say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or the ability to care for dependents; and half say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner.[40] The reasons U.S. women give for having an abortion reflect their understanding of the responsibilities of parenthood and family life.
- In which regions of the United States are women most likely to have an abortion? In 2008, the abortion rate was highest in the Northeast (27 abortions per 1,000 women), followed by the West, the South and the Midwest (22, 18 and 14 per 1,000, respectively).[31]
- How many abortions in the United States occur in the second trimester? In the United States, only about one in 10 abortions occur in the second trimester. More than nine in 10 occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and more than six in 10 occur in the first eight weeks.[37] The availability of medication abortion and new techniques that allow surgical abortions to be performed earlier in pregnancy are likely to reinforce the trend toward earlier abortions.
Cost of Abortion Services In The United States:
- What is the average cost of a first-trimester abortion in the United States? In 2009, the median charge for a surgical abortion at 10 weeks’ gestation was $470; but since most U.S. women obtain abortions at facilities with lower charges, the average amount paid was $451.[31] The median cost for a medication abortion was $490 and women paid an average of $483.
- How do U.S. women pay for their abortion procedures? In 2008, just one-third of privately insured U.S. women having abortions used that coverage to pay for their procedures; it is not clear how many of their plans offered full or partial coverage for abortion, or how many women were deterred from using their coverage because of concerns about confidentiality.[41] Among women having abortions that year, methods of payment included paid out of pocket 9 almost 60%), private insurance (12%), and Medicaid (20%; almost all of whom lived in the few states that use their own funds to cover medically necessary abortions).
Abortion Providers In The United States:
- Where are abortions performed? Abortions are performed at clinics, hospitals and physicians’ offices. The vast majority of U.S. abortions (about 94%) are performed at clinics.[31]
- Is the number of abortion providers in the United States increasing or decreasing? The number of U.S. abortion providers decreased 38% between its peak, in 1982, and 2005.[31] In 2008, however, there were 1,793 providers, about the same number as in 2005.
- Is it difficult for women in the United States to reach a provider? Some 87% of U.S. counties do not have an abortion provider and 35% of women aged 15–44 live in those counties.[32] The proportions are lower in the Northeast (53% and 18%) and the West (74% and 13%). In 2005, nonhospital providers estimated that while more than seven in 10 women traveled less than 50 miles to access abortion services, nearly two in 10 traveled 50–100 miles and almost one in 10 traveled more than 100 miles.[42]
- Are U.S. abortion clinics primarily located in black communities? No. Despite claims by antiabortion activists that most U.S. abortion clinics are located in black neighborhoods in order to target black women, fewer than one in 10 abortion clinics are actually located in predominantly black communities. [43]
- What proportion of U.S. abortion providers experience harassment, and what types of harassment do they experience? In 2008, nearly nine in 10 abortion clinics in the United States experienced at least one form of harassment.[31] Levels of harassment were particularly high in the Midwest (85%) and the South (75%). Overall, picketing was the most common harassment, reported by 87% of clinics
- Why do the Guttmacher Institute’s U.S. abortion data differ from those compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)? Guttmacher’s abortion provider data are gathered through a national census of all known facilities that provide abortions in the United States, an effort the Institute has undertaken since 1973.[41] The CDC compiles data on U.S. abortion procedures it receives from state departments of health; there are a few states that do not collect or report data on abortion procedures at all. Therefore, Guttmacher’s data on abortion are considered more complete.
Legal Restrictions On Abortion:
- Does making abortion illegal make it less common? No. The criminalization of abortion does not eliminate the procedure; instead it forces women to turn to unskilled providers who work in clandestine, unsafe conditions, thus increasing their risk of injury and death. Many developing countries have highly restrictive laws, but also high abortion rates. While the legal restrictions in these countries do not lessen the incidence of abortion, they greatly increase the risk to women.[44] The risk of death resulting from abortion in developing regions is almost 60 times that in developed regions.[35]
- What proportion of the world’s women live in countries with highly restrictive abortion laws? As of 2008, some 40% of women of childbearing age (15–44 years) live in countries with highly restrictive laws (i.e., prohibiting abortion altogether, or allowing it only to save a woman’s life or to protect her physical or mental health).[44]
- What is Roe v. Wade? Roe v. Wade is the 1973 Supreme Court decision that recognized that a woman’s right to privacy includes her right to decide, in consultation with her physician, whether to continue her pregnancy. Roe also established that after the fetus is viable (that is, able to live outside the woman’s body, with or without artificial aid), states may restrict or ban abortions entirely, except when necessary to protect the woman’s life or health.
- What is the Hyde Amendment? First implemented in 1977, the Hyde Amendment prevents federal Medicaid funds from being used to pay for abortion except in cases of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother. However, states may use their own funds to cover the cost of abortion services for women on Medicaid; as of October 2011, 17 states currently do so in at least some circumstances.[45]
- How does the Hyde Amendment affect low-income women’s access to abortion in the United States? Approximately one-third of women obtaining abortions have Medicaid health care coverage, but many cannot use it to pay for their abortion procedures.[46] Women who have to pay for an abortion out of pocket may be forced to delay the procedure to raise the necessary funds, increasing both the cost and health risks associated with a later procedure. Many women must divert money meant for rent, child care, utility bills and food to pay for abortion care. Moreover, some women who are unable to obtain funding for abortions are forced to carry the pregnancy to term.
- How do states restrict abortion access? States adopt many types of laws to restrict abortion access. The most common restrictions on abortion are parental involvement requirements for minors, state-mandated counseling and waiting periods, and limitations on public funding and private insurance. All abortion laws enacted by states must include an exception to protect the woman’s life and health. The vast majority of states have such laws in place.[47]
Biology isn't telling anyone to deprive women of access to reproductive control
Women’s bodies go through a lot of unconscious processes to determine if now is a good time to have a baby. Biologically speaking, the idealized reproductive strategy for a woman is to have babies when she’s in the best possible state to raise them. The unconscious body does some of this work, but what makes human beings awesome is that we have these large brains that can supplement our natural processes and make them more efficient. “I’m not ready to have a baby” is an equally valid message coming from the brain as from inside the uterus. Unless, of course, you believe that women are inherently inferior creatures who should be constrained from self-care and family care in order to satisfy the desires of mostly strangers who have psychological issues around sex. To which I say, you have an entirely different argument to prove then.
[This sentiment applies to all people capable of becoming pregnant]
Researchers Find that Abstinence-Only Sex Education Does Not, In Fact, Promote Abstinence
[Oh, sorry. I thought everyone already knew this ;) ]
Researchers at the University of Georgia have just published the first large-scale study of teen pregnancy rates by state in comparison with sex education curricula. The results demonstrate that rates of teen pregnancy are “significantly higher” in states that use “abstinence-only” models, while lower in those that provide a more comprehensive education, including birth control instruction and STI prevention alongside abstinence. Moreover, the significance of the relationship remained even when the researchers adjusted for potentially important factors like socioeconomic status, education level and ethnicity.
According to the press release, the study is only correlative (meaning that it does not show that abstinence education causes more pregnancies), but the implications for policy are readily apparent:
“This clearly shows that prescribed abstinence-only education in public schools does not lead to abstinent behavior,” said David Hall, second author and assistant professor of genetics in the Franklin College. “It may even contribute to the high teen pregnancy rates in the U.S. compared to other industrialized countries.”
The finding may seem odd in light of the fact that teen pregnancy rates have been on the decline in the U.S. for over a decade; however, the problem is that we still have the very high rates compared to other developed nations. If the goal is truly to reduce teenage pregnancies, comprehensive sex education is the way to go. On the other hand, if the goal is to shore-up a religious ideology while ignoring the numbers, states are welcome to continue. Just don’t be upset when MTV’s Teen Mom franchise comes to town.
Feministing: NARAL Pro-Choice NC releases undercover investigation of CPCs
OCTOBER 24, 2011
Today, NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina released their undercover investigation into crisis pregnancy centers, and it’s pretty friggin’ scary.
The state actually has an intense presence of crisis pregnancy centers — in fact, there are 8 times as many CPCs in the North Carolina than there are abortion clinics. And now, two recent state laws will drive even more funding to the centers:
Money from sales of the new “Choose Life” license plates, which are expected to become available later this year, will go to the anti-abortion centers. On Wednesday, under the new law that places restrictions on abortions, a state-run website will launch and list the places that provide free ultrasounds, a service provided by the private centers.
That’s right, a state-run online registry will send pregnant women in NC to these “clinics,” 94% of which (the report found) have no medical professionals on their staff. And yeah, we all know these centers are, as my grandmother used to say, “full of what the chippies eat” — but many North Carolina folks do not and will not when looking for legitimate reproductive health care.
And not only will they be subjected to lovely anti-choice coercion on their visit, but religious propaganda as well:
The report says one Jewish investigator who posed as a pregnant woman was told at five centers she wouldn’t go to heaven unless she converted to Christianity…
Conversion attempts are hardly a new tactic for CPCs, but this is a reminder: these centers are doing more damage than just interfering with people’s health care (which is bad enough). And now, they’re being state-supported.
Read the full report here.
Sleeping Problems Linked to Child Abuse
The legacies of child abuse are legion and cruelly durable.
Excerpt:
The national survey, part of the Midlife Development in the United States data set, asked 3,500 adults in 1995 about their childhood. Ten years later, nearly 900 of them aged 60 and older were asked about sleep, relationships and emotional distress.
“This paper addresses problems in sleeping, a very frequent complaint among older adults, and adds to a growing research literature connecting childhood stressors to late life health issues,” Knight said. “It further suggests how the connection between childhood emotional abuse and sleep occurs, with the effects of abuse acting through influences on social support and emotional distress in adulthood.”
Guttmacher Institute Report Finds that Decline in Teen Birth Rates is Linked to More Effective Contraception Use
- Hormonal contraceptives were used by 37% of sexually active teens in 2006–2008 and by 47% in 2008–2010.
- Use of long-acting reversible contraceptive methods like the IUD increased from 1.4% to 4.4%.
- Dual method use—the use of condoms and hormonal methods simultaneously—also increased from 16% to 23%.
- Additionally, fewer teens reported that they are trying to become pregnant than was the case in years past.
______________________________
I thought this was important to post in response to this submission about a debate regarding education, teen pregnancy, and population control. Education and access to resources are the only ways- and must go hand in hand- to see any decline in rates of STI’s and unintended pregnancies. This debate, for me, should be less about ‘population control’ and more about keeping people and their communities healthier, happier, and informed. -Rachel
(via fuckyeahsexeducation)
No, that’s completely false. The American Psychiatric Association says that supposed Post-Abortion Stress Syndrome doesn’t even exist. That article goes into other myths, too.
And yeah, you’ll always find some scientists saying these things. There will always be studies…
When people say that post abortion stress syndrome doesn’t exist it’s hard for me to take them seriously. You think no one ever reacts in that way? You are wrong. Everyone reacts to having their abortion differently.
[Image: Bill Nye with his hands up as if to calm a crowd. Text reads in Impact font and all caps, “EVERYONE CALM THE FUCK DOWN. I’M A SCIENTIST.” End description.]
Just because someone might regret their abortion doesn’t mean they got a disorder from it. Research has actually shown that the people who develop mental issues from abortions usually had some mental issues to begin with, and said mental issues don’t constitute an entirely separate disorder. And again, the APA says the syndrome does not exist. The highly accredited APA.
Let’s look at methodological flaws in these studies, eh? The study in question here was done by one Priscilla K. Coleman. It says right here in the abstract that they adjusted the ratios and did not actually do their own research. Hm. Odd. That doesn’t sound like the scientific method to me.
In fact, Priscilla Coleman has been repeatedly criticized for her bad methodology. In an interview linked here, she basically confessed to sometimes fucking with data. And she is not the only anti-choice pseudo-scientist with such methodological issues.
So yeah, if I had to choose between biased pseudo-scientists or the APA, I go with the APA.
Bill Nye, Bill Nye, why you gotta be so fly?
When people say that post abortion stress syndrome doesn’t exist it’s hard for me to take them seriously. You think no one ever reacts in that way? You are wrong. Everyone reacts to having their abortion differently.
Seriously, though, THIS is what is wrong with the world. This is like people who say “I was sad yesterday for no apparent reason…I must have full-blown clinical depression!!!1!!!!”
No. No you don’t. There is a huge difference between feelings and a mental illness. Misinformed and predatory antichoicers are saying that Post-Abortion (Stress) Syndrome is a form of PTSD. This is false and downright offensive to people with PTSD or other mental illnesses (like me!). Here is a post with tons of information and peer-reviewed studies disproving PASS. No one on our side is claiming abortion isn’t a complex and nuanced event. For most people its a relief. For others, they may experience sadness and happiness simultaneously. And, yes, some people actually come to regret their abortion, but that still isn’t a mental illness.
As was said above, people that do show signs of distress after their abortions had almost always had previous experiences with mental illness. Add in the shame and stigma associated with the procedure [created almost entirely by antichoicers] and that can become a recipe for a negative emotional response. By scaremongering vulnerable people into believing PASS is real and then showing them antichoice fetus gore pr0n that do not accurately represent what their abortion will look like and then calling them a murderer and a baby-killer on their way through the door—THAT will cause a negative emotional response to the procedure, that doesn’t mean the procedure itself is to blame.
There’s this:
This review identified several factors that are predictive of more negative psychological responses following first-trimester abortion among women in the United States. Those factors included perceptions of stigma, need for secrecy, and low or anticipated social support for the abortion decision; a prior history of mental health problems; personality factors such as low self-esteem and use of avoidance and denial coping strategies; and characteristics of the particular pregnancy, including the extent to which the woman wanted and felt committed to it. Across studies, prior mental health emerged as the strongest predictor of postabortion mental health. Many of these same factors also predict negative psychological reactions to other types of stressful life events, including childbirth, and, hence, are not uniquely predictive of psychological responses following abortion. {emphasis mine}
And this:
As we have known, there is no convincing evidence that abortion is a significant cause of psychiatric illness. We must distinguish illnesses from feelings. A woman may have many emotional reactions to an unwanted pregnancy and abortion - most commonly relief, but also sadness and a sense of loss. These feelings can coexist and, like feelings about any important life decision, they can vary over time. Negative feelings often stem from the circumstances that led the woman to terminate the pregnancy, such as an abusive relationship or a lack of social supports, or from the circumstances of the abortion itself such as demonstrators at an abortion facility. Women have abortions because they understand the importance of good mothering; they want to have wanted babies and to be able to give those babies what they need to grow up loved, healthy, and happy. {emphasis mine}
If you’ve had an abortion and do want post-procedure counseling or just someone to talk to here are some prochoice, non-judgmental resources:
(via private-revolution)
It saddens me that people still think in this way.
I am currently having a debate with a classmate of mine.
His initial statement: “I believe that above energy conservation and pollution human population is our biggest issue. We should focus all money and resources on limiting how many people we have on this earth. We honestly have way too many people here. Nobody is getting educated anymore, just having children and not caring for them.”
My response: “While I completely agree with your thoughts about people having children and not properly raising them, I require a certain amount of clarification regarding your sentence about education. Do you mean that people are not educated in proper birth control methods, or not educated in general?”
His clarification: “I don’t think we should be spending money on sex ed programs. Our schools are going broke as is, why are we bringing in people to teach our kids how to have sex? Those very same people are telling our kids it’s okay to kill babies.”
Here I actually had to re-read this bit again and again. Am I the ONLY one that sees a complete contradiction in this guy’s thought process?
My response: “I see. Tell me then how we are going to control the population without educating people on proper prevention methods? Without keeping abortion legal?”
His genius response: “People should stop having sex. All kids care about is sex these days. If you don’t have sex, you don’t get pregnant, so you don’t need to worry about birth control or abortion.”
O.o Let me tell you that the prompt was asking what we would do as researchers if we were given the means to work towards a solution for the most important environmental problem we face in this country.
I cannot walk away: “Does the complete failure of abstinence only education to prevent pregnancy and STI transmission not hint at the idiocy of that plan?”
His apparent solution: “That’s because the abstinence only education was not given the same funds that other programs were. If we had the money, we could work on our system.”
What the fuck: “Please elaborate on how more funds would give you better results.”
Him: “Well, if places like Planned Parenthood weren’t giving our kids condoms, they wouldn’t have sex. We could use the funds to come up with cooler ways to get kids on board with no sex.”
Me: “In what universe is pretending that teens won’t have sex an effective way of controlling the population? That’s like letting a murderer go free because you’re too afraid to admit that he murdered someone.”
Him: “Murder and sex are quite different, young miss. Abstinence is the only way that our population problem will be solved. Only stable, married men and women should be able to have sex and get pregnant. Then the only children in this country would be educated and grow up well.”
Me: “Okay, let me entertain your insanely, proven to be ineffective plan to save the world. Let’s say that you passed a law stating that nobody who isn’t married or “stable” cannot have sex. Do you think that people will abide? When prohibition was in effect, did people stop drinking? And hold the press, just because two people are married does not mean they can produce a responsible child. That has to do with parenting, which does not require marriage but dedicated parents who value the quality of their child’s life.”
Him: “We are getting off track here. I am simply stating that if teens were not educated about ways to have sex, they wouldn’t do it.”
Me: “False. Teens will experiment regardless of education surrounding their interests. Would it not make sense to educate anyway, knowing that teens will have sex at some point in their lives?”
Him: “They won’t if we teach them that it is wrong.”
Me: “You are stuck in the wrong generation to be thinking in that way, Mr. _____. Sex will happen, whether you pretend it doesn’t or not. Organizations such as Planned Parenthood prepare youth and adults alike to they can make responsible decisions regarding their sexuality. If we eliminate sex ed, we will eliminate the only thing keeping our population controlled as is. What we need to pay for ismore education, in more places, for more people. What we need to pay for is a health care system that gives people (poor, middle class, upper class or anything in between) the same access to reproductive health care. THAT is what Planned Parenthood does.”
Him: “I see we have reached a disagreement.”
Me: “You sit in your corner and pretend that the world is only filled with so many people because of ‘irresponsible teenagers’. If you need me, I’ll be working towards a society that is educated and responsible for themselves because they have access to resources like Planned Parenthood that get them there.”
I commend you on your ability to remain calm in response to this foolishness. One thing I do want to comment on is the bolded part: “That’s because the abstinence only education was not given the same funds that other programs were. If we had the money, we could work on our system.”
That is an absolute LIE. Abstinence-only sex education programs are given millions of dollars in federal funding every year while comprehensive sex education programs are given…wait for it…ZERO! [Until 2010].
See:
- The History of Federal Abstinence-Only Funding
- A History of Federal Funding for Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs
They also like to try to compare Title X funding to abstinence-only funding, but that is apples and oranges.
Abstinence-only sex education does not work! This has been proven in study after study, yet they keep trotting out the same old lies. And when you lie to children about condoms’ effectiveness or say that no sex can ever be safe (have sex and you will die is essentially the message), you’re not teaching kids not to have sex—you’re teaching them to have…wait for it…unprotected sex! Not to mention most people support the teaching of comprehensive sex education in schools.
Seriously people, if your theory is: contraception increases the incidence of abortion or tell children sex is deadly (or tell them nothing at all about sex) and they just won’t try it, go sit in a corner.
Still don’t believe me? Guttmacher just put out a news release examining the new CDC report National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) and guess what? Teen pregnancy is going down because of increased rates of contraception use! And funding family planning prevents more than 800,000 abortions a year by providing people with contraception!
Where is the Village to Raise these Children?
“It is impossible, after reading the John Jay study, to ignore reality. The research has the power to force all concerned persons – the ‘village’ – to take a hard look at our communal failure to save our children from homelessness or to prevent the desperation, abuse, exploitation, crime and possible engagement in survival sex that always follow. The study directs our attention to the need for multiple responses – one or more set of responses to address the 90% who are not ‘trafficked’ into prostitution but who (together with other homeless youth) are, nonetheless, in desperate need of help and another set of responses to help the 10% who are trafficked or controlled by a pimp.” Ann Jordan, Rights Work, 11/30/11
Afghanistan: New survey shows significant improvement in maternal and child health - challenges remain
Kabul, Afghanistan
Many more Afghan women are receiving skilled care today during pregnancy and delivery than a decade ago, and more women and children are surviving today than ever before as a result of greater access to health facilities and better care according to the Afghanistan Mortality Survey (AMS) 2010. Despite the challenging situation implementing this survey, the AMS 2010, released today, represents some 87 percent of the population and provides needed data on the current state of healthcare in Afghanistan, confirming the remarkable achievements made in the health sector over the past decade.
“The AMS 2010 is the most comprehensive national survey carried out in Afghanistan to assess mortality levels and their causes to date,” said Dr. Suraya Dalil, Acting Minister of Public Health.
According to the AMS 2010, 60 percent of Afghan women are now receiving antenatal care from a skilled provider and over one-third are giving birth with assistance from a skilled birth attendant. The AMS 2010 also confirms that investments in infrastructure, education and health in the past decade have paid off. According to the AMS, fewer women are dying from pregnancy-related causes than they did seven years ago, and adult mortality has also declined.
Despite the many positive trends, the survey still documents substantial gaps. For example, two in three births still take place at home. Likewise, lack of money and distance to health care facilities remain major barriers to accessing health care.
“Pregnancy-related conditions remain a frequent cause of death among Afghan women,” said Dr. Dalil.” About one in 50 Afghan women will die of pregnancy-related causes. Throughout Afghanistan, one woman dies about every two hours from pregnancy-related causes.”
Dr. Dalil added, “About one in thirteen children will die before their first birthday and about one in ten children die before age 5, mostly from acute respiratory infection and other preventable causes.”
The survey also shows positive changes in marriage practices and knowledge about contraception. According to the AMS 2010, Afghan women have just over five children on average. Although marriage occurs at relatively young ages, there is evidence from the AMS 2010 that age at marriage, particularly for females, is rising.
In addition to providing comprehensive information on health, the AMS documented improvements in access to clean water, sanitation, and electricity. More than half of all households now have access to improved sources of drinking water, though only one in five has improved sanitation facilities that are not shared with other households. Only about 40 percent of households have access to electricity.
While great strides have been made in the healthcare sector, there is still work to be done. “We must continue our efforts through government programs the work of NGOs, and our partnership with donors to bring quality health care to every family in Afghanistan,” Dr. Dalil said.
The AMS 2010 gathered information about 22,351 households, 47,848 women and 3,157 deaths in the three years before the survey. The survey was implemented by the Afghan Public Health Institute (APHI) and the Central Statistics Organization (CSO) with technical assistance from ICF Macro, a U.S.-based research organization, the Indian Institute for Health Management Research (IIHMR), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Funding was provided by the United States Agency for International Development and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA.)
The Ministry of Health would like to express its deep appreciation to the thousands of community health workers, midwives, nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians, physicians and health care managers for all their efforts, under difficult circumstances, to improve health care in Afghanistan. The Ministry also expresses gratitude to the NGOs, professional health associations, the private sector and the international community, and most important of all, to the people of Afghanistan who have contributed to these achievements.
[Emphasis mine. Also to put that maternal mortality statistic in context: while 1 in 50 Afghans die from pregnancy complications, only 24 in 100,000 pregnant people die in the US from pregnancy. Many countries in Europe get below 10 per 100,000. Al-Jazeera also did a write-up on the report.]
