"Nurses Are Witches, They Won't Allow Abortion": Exploring Adolescents' Abortion-Seeking Pathways, Perceptions and Preferences in Ibadan, Nigeria

Olutomiwa Binuyo, University of the Western Cape
Ademola Ajuwon, Department of Health Promotion and Education, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

The World Health Organization reports that not less than ten million unintended pregnancies occur among adolescent girls in developing countries yearly. More than half of these unintended pregnancies result in abortion. Unsafe abortion is a major contributing factor to maternal mortality in Nigeria. Hence, to promote safe abortion among adolescents, there is a need to investigate their abortion-seeking pathways. Using a mix of qualitative research methods, this study seeks to explore the abortion-seeking pathways, perceptions and preferences of adolescents in Ibadan, a major city in Southwestern Nigeria. Twenty-eight female adolescents participated in focus group discussions (FGDs) and vignettes. Findings show that female adolescents in Ibadan prefer non-clinical abortion providers. Although clinical methods are perceived to be the best provider of abortion services, the majority of female adolescents in Ibadan prefer to use non-clinical methods. This is due to the stigmatization and unfriendly treatment by healthcare professionals like nurses, and the bureaucratic processes of the hospital which sometimes require parental consent. Hence, it is important to create adolescent-friendly spaces in health facilities. This study contributes to the scarce literature on abortion provider preference and gives the needed insight into safe abortion practices for adolescents in Nigeria.

Keywords: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Qualitative data/methods/approaches, Children, Adolescents, and Youth

See extended abstract.