Despite being highly restricted, the cases of abortion in Nigeria between 1996 and 2012 increased by 640,000, a new study conducted by researchers at the Guttmacher Institute and the University of Ibadan has shown.

The study which is titled, ‘The incidence of abortion in Nigeria,’ revealed that 1.25 million abortions were performed in Nigeria in 2012, in contrast with 610,000 abortions estimated to have occurred in the country in 1996.

It noted that the increase in abortion was not only due to the country’s greater population size, but also as a result of an apparent rise in abortion rate, adding that most of them were unsafe.

The study’s lead author and Director of International Research, Guttmacher Institute, Dr. Akinrinola Bankole, stated that although abortion was permitted only when necessary to save a woman’s life, its induced form was common in Nigeria.

Bankole, who spoke at a function in Abuja on Wednesday, stated that the estimated rate was 33 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49 years in 2012.

He said, “Although this rate is greater than the 23 abortions per 1,000 women rate estimated in a previous study in 1996, the most prudent conclusion may be that the abortion rate has increased slightly, as the two rates were calculated using different approaches.”

The study noted that most of the abortions were clandestine and many were unsafe.

This, it said, was a major contributor to Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate, which was among the highest in the world.

Bankole said, “These findings make clear not only that abortion is common in Nigeria, but unsafe services are putting women’s health and lives at risk. Clandestine procedures are often carried out under unsanitary conditions by providers who are not appropriately trained. The resulting complications range from unchecked bleeding to serious infections and even death.”

On measures adopted for the study, he noted that a widely used indirect methodology was undertaken to estimate the incidence of abortion and unintended pregnancy in Nigeria in 2012.

According to the study’s lead author, data on provision of abortion and post-abortion care were collected from a nationally representative sample of 772 health facilities.

Bankole stated that estimates of the likelihood that women who had unsafe abortion experience, complications and obtained treatment were collected from 194 health care professionals with a broad understanding of the abortion context in Nigeria.

“Results from findings showed that an estimated 1.25 million induced abortions occurred in Nigeria in 2012, equivalent to a rate of 33 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49,” he said.