A profile of women seeking pregnancy terminations in a clinic in Urban Malaysia

Abstract

This article profiles women who have had abortions in a clinic in a large city in Malaysia. It is limited to a single clinic sample of primarily working-class Chinese, Malay and Indian women. The profile of women who have abortions at this clinic, from statistical records gathered over a six and a half year period, indicates that they tend to be Chinese, in their late twenties, married,
having their first abortion, and to have used contraception in the past. There are trends towards an increasing rate of Malay women and for younger women of all ethnicities to be coming in for abortions, menstrual regulations or 'washouts" as they are locally called. Educational information on sexuality and contraception, and abortion counselling are two areas which appear to be of need to working-class women.