Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Nov 28;19(1):212.
doi: 10.1186/s12978-022-01526-3.

Typologies of women's abortion trajectories in Burkina Faso: findings from a qualitative study

Fiacre Bazié  1 , Haley L Thomas  2 , Meagan E Byrne  2 , Boukary Kindo  3 , Suzanne O Bell  2 , Caroline Moreau  2   4
Affiliations

Typologies of women's abortion trajectories in Burkina Faso: findings from a qualitative study

Fiacre Bazié et al. Reprod Health. .

Abstract

Background: Abortion is a legally restricted, yet common reproductive life event among women in Burkina Faso; however, women's abortion experiences vary greatly depending on their social and economic capital, partner involvement, and level of knowledge. We sought to classify women's abortion care-seeking experiences across the life course and social conditions into typologies using qualitative data.

Methods: An initial quantitative survey among a nationally representative sample of women ages 15-49 years collected information on women's induced abortion experiences. Women who reported an abortion in the last 10 years were asked if they would agree to participate in a subsequent in-depth interview (IDI) to learn more about their abortion experience. Twenty-five women, identified via purposive sampling, completed an IDI. Using a process of typology construction, we identified attributes of each woman's condition at the time of her abortion and aspects of her abortion experience, created a matrix of attributes and cases, and identified emerging relationships. Three types were identified through this process.

Results: Twenty-three IDIs were analyzed, and women's abortion experiences were grouped into three types: abortion to delay childbearing in adolescence; abortion to space childbirth among women in union; abortion to avoid childbearing among single mothers. Two cases were identified as outliers. Cases were grouped based on the context of their pregnancy, the reason for the abortion and involved decision-makers, and their patterns of care-seeking, including methods and sources used.

Conclusion: Structural inequities related to gender and wealth were prominent forces shaping women's abortion experiences. Comprehensive sexuality education coupled with community-based interventions to promote gender-equitable relationships and address social stigma related to women's sexuality could reduce reproductive coercion and unintended pregnancies.

Keywords: Abortion; Burkina Faso; Pregnancy termination; Qualitative research; Reproductive health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Institut Supérieur des Sciences de la Population; The Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; & Jhpiego. PMA Abortion Survey Results: Burkina Faso. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Baltimore, Maryland, USA: Performance Monitoring for Action/Burkina Faso; 2021. https://www.pmadata.org/sites/default/files/data_product_results/BF_Abor.... Accessed 30 Jun 2022.
    1. Bearak JM, Popinchalk A, Beavin C, Ganatra B, Moller A-B, Tunçalp Ö, et al. Country-specific estimates of unintended pregnancy and abortion incidence: a global comparative analysis of levels in 2015–2019. BMJ Glob Health. 2022;7(3):e007151. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007151. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bankole A, Hussain R, Sedgh G, Rossier C, Kaboré I, Guiella G. Unintended pregnancy and induced abortion in Burkina Faso: causes and consequences. New York: Guttmacher Institute; 2013.
    1. Baxerres C, Boko I, Konkobo A, Ouattara F, Guillaume A. Abortion in two francophone African countries: a study of whether women have begun to use misoprostol in Benin and Burkina Faso. Contraception. 2018;97(2):130–6. doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2017.10.011. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ilboudo PGC, et al. Costs and consequences of abortions to women and their households: a cross-sectional study in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Health Policy Plan. 2015;30(4):500–7. doi: 10.1093/heapol/czu025. - DOI - PMC - PubMed