The impact of voluntary abortion on contraceptive trajectories

Caroline Moreau, INSERM
Agathe Lamarche Vadel, INSERM
Nathalie Bajos, INSERM

Objectives: Despite wide accessibility to medical contraception in France, 30% of induced abortions occur among women using no contraception. This study aims to analyse women’s contraceptive history before and after abortions and to identify the factors linked to medical contraception use after an abortion. Methods: In 2000, a representative sample of 2,863 women, aged 18 to 44, was interviewed, of which 163 had undergone their last abortion in the preceding 5 years. Results: 50% of these women had changed their contraceptive pattern in the 6 months preceding the abortion, and the use of medical contraception just before the abortion was low (32.6%). After an abortion, a majority of women turned to medical contraception (71.4%), in line with use by the general population. Different contraceptive patterns will be analyzed according to women’s social and reproductive backgrounds. Conclusion: Induced abortions often result from vulnerable moments in women’s contraceptive experiences, which physicians could identify in order to better prevent.