IN a survey carried out in three localities of Mlimba, Mwaya and Mtabwira in the two districts of Ulanga and Ifakara, results show that the women risk their lives by undertaking crude abortions.
Speaking recently, Maria John (not her real name), who resides in Mwaya division said that she had attempted to terminate her pregnancy because she was still breast feeding her six month old baby.
She said the procedure entailed a painful process of inserting a branch of a cassava plant into her private parts causing her to bleed profusely. "I cannot share this with the Health Centre officials here because I may be prosecuted.
Believe me, I am taking on a risk telling you this story but I might pay a big price if police get to know this," she pleaded. At Mtabwira there were two cases which strongly indicate that the patients had undertaken abortions, though both patients deny it.
Similar cases were manifested in Mlimba Health Centre. The Assistant Medical Officer of Mwaya Health Centre, Dr Adjustus Haule is concerned that such crude abortions are life threatening. "We try our best to help the patient stop bleeding and rehydrate them to save their lives," he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Sunday Alfred Dominico, an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and Research and Publications Coordinator at the University of Dodoma (UDOM) told this paper in an exclusive interview that each year, throughout the world, approximately 200 million women become pregnant and among them 40 % (80 million) are unplanned for pregnancies.
"Twenty million pregnancies end up in unsafe abortion- that is an abortion done by either a person who lacks skills or in an environment lacking the minimum required standards or both," he said. He said that East Africa is one of the worst hit regions worldwide.
In Tanzania abortion is a critical problem and if you visit regional hospitals, half of admissions in maternity wards are due to abortions or complications arising from abortions. "Abortion is among the five leading causes of maternal mortality, contributing to 13 per cent of all maternal deaths," he said.
According to the 2010 Tanzania Domestic Household Survey only 34 per cent of married women in the country use family planning methods.
"In a country like Tanzania where abortion is illegal, more women are likely to end up undergoing unsafe abortions exposing themselves to various complications such as infections massive blood loss, maternal deaths and infertility," he said.
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