Findings of a Household Survey of Abortion Knowledge, Skills and Experiences among Young Women in Rupendehi, Nepal

Kathryn Andersen, Ipas
Alexandra Teixeira, Ipas
Sharad Sharma, Ipas
Ram Chandra Khanal, Ipas
Shailes Neupane, Valley Research Group
Valerie Acre, Ipas

Although the majority of Nepali adolescents (64%) have their first sexual intercourse by age 17, only 5% use modern contraception and adolescents rarely use the official health sector for legal, safe abortion despite a relatively liberal law. This paper describes findings from a cross-sectional, two-stage probability-based community sample of 600 women between the ages of 16 and 24. Interviews collected information on demographics; media habits and sources of reproductive health information (including contraception and abortion); reproductive history (including any past attempts to terminate an unwanted pregnancy); abortion knowledge, attitudes and skills; and reproductive health experiences of friends and younger sister-cousins. Analysis of findings, overall and by marital status, will be presented as well as implications for programs targeting reproductive health needs (including contraception and abortion) of young women regardless of marital status.