Abortion, an increasing public health concern in Ecuador, a 10-year population-based analysis

OBJECTIVES To describe the epidemiology of abortion in Ecuador from 2004 to 2014 and compare the prevalence between the public and the private health care systems. METHODS This is a cross-sectional analysis of the overall mortality and morbidity rate due to abortion in Ecuador, based on public health records and other government databases. RESULTS From 2004 to 2014, a total of 431,614 spontaneous abortions, miscarriage and other types of abortions were registered in Ecuador. The average annual rate of abortion was 115 per 1,000 live births. The maternal mortality rate was found to be 43 per 100,000 live births. CONCLUSIONS Abortion is a significant and wide-ranging problem in Ecuador. The study supports the perception that in spite of legal restrictions to abortion in Ecuador, women are still terminating pregnancies when they feel they need to do so. The public health system reported >84% of the national overall prevalence.