[Voluntary interruption of pregnancy: comparative study between 1982 and 1996 in the main center of Côte d'Or. Study of women having repeat voluntary interruption of pregnancy].

UNLABELLED: Since the egal use of induced abortion (1975), all the studies have shown a relative stability of the abortion rate related to delivery. Otherwise since 1985 we have noted an increase of repeat abortions.

OBJECTIVE: We compared in same center two populations of aborters with a fifteen year's interval. Then we analysed the psyco-social conditions of patients who had more than one abortion (R).

METHODS: It was a comparative study between 1982 and 1996 in the main center of Côte d'Or (France). A representative sample of patients coming for abortion was retrospectively compared, (348 for 1982 and 343 for 1996).

RESULTS: There were more not married patients (p = 0.0003), more nulliparous women (p = 0.0017) and more nulligestities' one (p = 0.03) in 1996 than 1982. The interval between the previous pregnancy and in 1996 (p = 0.03). Repeat abortions (R) represented 15.8% in 1982 and 21.6% in 1996. Women who have had two or more abortions had increased significantly between 1982 (1.4%) and 1996 (5.2%) (p = 0.013). The R patients had more living children than patients who accessed for the first time at abortion (noR) in the two periods (p = 0.0003) and there were more women less thirty years old in the R group in 1996 than in 1992 (p < 0.05). The R mean age for the first abortion and for the first pregnancy were lower than the noR group in 1996: respectively 23.7 years versus 27.4% years (p = 0.00009) and 20.8 years versus 23.7 years (p = 0.0001). There were no significant difference between R and noR groups with regards of contraceptive failing, the reasons of abortion and the socio-professional categories.

CONCLUSIONS: There were no difference in the number of abortion between 1982 and 1996. However we noted an increase of repeat abortion. This group was characterised by great socio-economic problems, unstable couples and ambivalence with wish of pregnancy and no wish of children. It seemed exist a real psycho-social precariousness. Actually, this population was perfectly aware of contraceptive methods.