Author:

Keywords:

home abortion, information

Abstract:

Introduction & Aim According to the Belgian abortion law of 1990, women opting for medical abortion have to stay in the abortion centre during the entire procedure. Hence, the majority of abortion-seeking women currently decide for surgical abortion. In this study, we map the process of deciding for one of the abortion methods along the provision of standardized information, including the hypothetical possibility of home abortions. Methods All Dutch speaking women (≥ 18 years) with a gestational age <8 weeks, presented at one of four participating Flemish abortion centres, were invited to participate. Before counselling, they were questioned about their initial abortion method preference and the information sources they looked after. Subsequently, they received standardized videotaped information on both methods and their preferences were asked again. In a second video, information on the hypothetical home abortion was provided and final preferences were registered. Socio-demographic and obstetrical data were collected. Results Seventy percent of the eligible women (n=387) participated in the study. The mean age of the women was 26.7 years (SD 6.6). Most women sought for information on the abortion centre website (58.9%). The medical procedure is initially the most wanted one (53.3%). Of those initially preferring the medical method, one in four changes to a surgical preference after receiving standardized information. Half of the women with a preference for medical abortion would opt for home abortion, while only one in five preferring surgical abortion would do. Conclusion Flemish abortion-seeking women seem to have an inaccurate perception of the medical abortion procedure, since provision of standardized information changes their preferences. Home abortion would be a good alternative, mostly for women initially preferring the medical method.