Unsafe Abortion: The Experiences of Selected Young Women in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana

Abstract

Unsafe abortion is considered to be a widely underestimated issue in reproductive health care, and it poses a significant danger to the health of young women. The study sought to explore unsafe abortion: The experiences of young women in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. The theory of planned behaviour served as foundational guide for the study. The philosophical underpinning was interpretivism. The study employed the qualitative research approach and data was collected from 21 participants with an interview guide or through in-depth interviews. The study revealed, aborters had little knowledge on safe abortion given that the first point of contact were their sexual partners, friends and guardians who ultimately influenced their decision to engage in unsafe abortion. The study discovered that young women chose risky abortion methods because of issues such as the need to further their education, find marriage partners, and avoid being stigmatized by their families and society. Finally, the study revealed that financial losses, psychological traumas continuous bleeding, vaginal infections, infertility and sometimes removal of their foetus were among the challenges of unsafe abortion. The study recommended the need to intensify awareness creation on the negative effects of unsafe abortion by Health professionals at PPAG and interberton.