Study of the Frequency, Causes and Methods of Elective Abortion and Demographic Characteristics of Women Referring to Alavi Educational and Medical Center, Ardabil 2022-2023

Background: Elective abortion is one of the factors affecting the decline in population growth and fertility rates and is a complex issue in the field of reproductive health.Given that elective abortion is prohibited in Iran, there are no accurate statistics on it.This study aimed to investigate the frequency, causes and methods of elective abortion and demographic characteristics of related women referring to Alavi Educational and Medical Center in Ardabil city from 2022 to 2023.Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on women referred to Alavi Hospital in Ardabil for elective abortion from November 2022 to March 2023.Data were collected through referrals to women's records, interviews, and questionnaires.Data analysis was carried out using SPSS-16 and descriptive statistics.Results: 116 women were referred to Alavi Hospital in Ardabil for elective abortion.The largest number of women (50.9%) was in the age group of 25-34 years and most of them (79.3%)lived in urban areas.The gestational age of 78.4% of them was less than 12 weeks.In terms of education, 41.4% of women had an intermediate level of education.62.9% of women used natural contraception and 87.1% used the misoprostol method for abortion.Desire to Limit childbearing (20.7%) was the main reason for abortion.54.3% of women had no history of previous abortion.Conclusion: Considering that the desire to limit childbearing was the main reason for abortion, and that the most studied people had no history of abortion and had average to low income and job satisfaction, it can be concluded that cultural, economic, and social issues are involved in abortion.