Preabortion ultrasound – a patient perspective

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of women who had a pre-abortion ultrasound.

	Ultrasound scan	No ultrasound scan
Age, years	26.2 ± 6.7	26.2 ± 6.7
Pregnancies	2 (1-10)	2 (1-10)
Abortions	0 (0-10)	0 (0-10)
Miscarriages	0 (0-9)	0 (0-9)
Children	0 (0-11)	0 (0-11)
Pregnancy length, days	38.6 ± 14.8	42.0 ± 10.3

Table 2. Reasons for not having a pre-abortion ultrasound scan.

	Total n = 34390	Total n = 45336
Reason	Main reason	One of multiple reasons
I thought I did not need one as I am sure I am pregnant, and I know how long I have been pregnant	10910 (31.7%)	16616 (36.7%)
I cannot afford one	10589 (30.8%)	10594 (23.4%)
I am afraid my partner or other people will find out	6472 (18.8%)	9412 (20.8%)
I just did not have time to do it	2478 (7.2%)	3312 (7.3%)
I did not know that I needed one	1974 (5.7%)	2234 (4.9%)
I cannot get to a clinic to get one because of distance or lack of transportation	1611 (4.7%)	2175 (4.8%)
I am unsure where to get one	356 (1%)	993 (2.2%)

Figure 1. Distribution of women with or without pre-abortion ultrasound scan by country.

Figure 2. Distribution of women who state, “I thought I did not need one as I am sure I am pregnant, and I know how long I have been pregnant” by country.

Figure 3. Distribution of women who stated as the main reason for not having ultrasound scan that they could not afford by country (Top 10 countries).

Figure 4. Distribution of women who state, “I am afraid my partner or other people will find out” by country.