Objective: To explore the population characteristics of women undergoing induced abortions and determine high-risk populations for reproductive health services in China's metropolises.
Methods: Study subjects were all women undergoing induced abortions at a large service center for family planning between January 2010 and December 2011 in Beijing. Relevant information was extracted from unified registration forms for induced abortions developed by the Ministry of Health, including age, permanent residency (Beijing/floating population in Beijing), marital status (single/married) and pregnancy history. The population characteristics were described. They were then divided into 3 groups according to marital status and reproductive history: unmarried, married without children and married with children. The population characteristics were further compared among three groups, including age, permanent residency, number of abortion and time interval between current induced abortion and previous one.
Results: A total of 18 745 women were identified, including 9 601 women undergoing an induced abortion in 2010 and 9 144 in 2011. The average age was (27 ± 6) (14-49) years. The women under 20 years accounted for 4.5% (845/18 745), floating women 63.1% (11 829/18 745), unmarried 45.0% (8 437/18 745) and women with repeated abortion 54.2% (10 161/18 745). Among women with repeated abortion, the women whose time interval between current abortion and previous one was under 1 year accounting for 26% (2 639/10 161) and those with induced abortions more than thrice (39.4%, 4 006/10 161). The percentage of floating women was the highest in unmarried group (P < 0.01). And the percentage for those time interval between current abortion and previous one was less than 1 year. And it was also the highest in unmarried women among three groups (P < 0.01).
Conclusion: In Chinese metropolitan areas, two-thirds of women with induced abortions is from floating population. Approximately a half are unmarried, over a half have induced abortions and time interval is the shortest in unmarried women. It suggests that reproductive health services for floating and unmarried women should be strengthened.