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Menstrual regulation, abortion and postabortion care in Cox's Bazar: Results from a mixed methods pilot test

Ann M. Moore, Guttmacher Institute
Kaosar Afsana, BRAC
Altaf Hossain, BAPSA
Jesse Philbin, Guttmacher Institute
Tahmid Hasan, BRAC University, JPG School of Public Health
Mira Tignor, Guttmacher Institute
Saira Jolly, BRAC University, JPG School of Public Health
Ayanti Barua, BRAC University, JPG School of Public Health

The Rohingya people have been forcibly displaced from Myanmar, a country with a conservative abortion law, to Bangladesh, a country that allows menstrual regulation (MR) up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. At present, about 1 million Rohingya are residing in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. Very little is known about how these Rohingya women are managing unintended pregnancies. We will be gathering mixed method pilot data in Q3 2021 to improve our understanding of the management and consequences of unintended pregnancies in this population via surveys with providers of MR or postabortion care (PAC) in and around the camps; a household-based sample of women of reproductive age in the camps with varying degrees of health care access; and qualitative interviews with men, informal providers (traditional birth attendants, drug sellers, Burmese non-medical doctors), and community leaders (imams, teachers, majhis). The pilot data will be used to inform the modification of the study design and instruments before full study implementation. Results from the pilot study will include preliminary evidence, fieldwork experiences, strategies for how to collect data on this sensitive behavior among this fragile population, necessary modifications to the tools as a result of the pilot experience, and surprising findings.

Keywords: Fertility and childbirth, Migrant populations, Mixed methods research, Refugees

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session 76. Abortion as a Programme and Policy Priority