Source: Times Live
Legal abortion has been available in South Africa since 1997, but backstreet abortionists still advertise widely, with some desperate women using over-the-counter herbal products to induce labour.

Research by University of Cape Town Women's Reproductive Health Unit director Professor Jane Harries and colleague Deborah Constant found that 17% of mothers admitted to trying to terminate their pregnancies at home or by approaching a backstreet abortionist.

The research is published in this month's edition of the South African Medical Journal.
Constant and Harries interviewed women who accessed a termination-of-pregnancy service at large Western Cape hospitals after they were 12 weeks pregnant.

Half had used Stametta, an over-the-counter herbal product that is advertised to treat pain.

One woman paid R1600 for pills from a backstreet abortionist, but sought help at a hospital when the tablets did not work.

The researchers did not isolate reasons why women tried to abort at home, but they found that the women who did were most likely to be poor and to speak an African language.

Constant said: "Abortion providers also face stigma and can be shunned by family, their community and healthcare workers."

It is legal to get an abortion before a woman is 12 weeks pregnant without parental consent.

Further termination services are available at state hospitals up until 20 weeks if the woman's economic, physical or social health will suffer from the pregnancy.

Some women interviewed did not realise they were pregnant until after they were already three months pregnant.

Constant said: "Understanding of how to track one's reproductive cycle is poor in our communities.

"This is compounded by the prior use of injectable contraceptives, where irregular bleeding is common. So a regular cycle is an unusual event."

• South Africa