Lived experiences and pathways to abortion in Kilifi County, Kenya

Though teenage pregnancy rates have declined substantially, from 35% in 2018 to 13.4% in 2021, challenges surrounding the sexual reproductive health of adolescent girls and young women persist.

While the County Department of Health routinely collects data on post-abortion care within the local health facilities, not much is known about unsafe abortions, and little evidence exists on the drivers of unsafe abortion, its effects on health, and its socioeconomic impacts. A study that explores the lived experiences, the determinants, the pathways to abortions, and its effects on health and socioeconomic circumstances is crucial in a county where 13.4 % of the women receiving care in antenatal clinics are younger than 16.