Self-managed abortion in the literature: a systematic scoping review

Self-managed abortion, when a person performs their own abortion without
clinical supervision, is a model of abortion care used across a range of
settings. To provide a comprehensive synthesis of the available literature
on self-managed abortion, we conducted a systematic search for
peer-reviewed research in April 2019 in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science,
Popline, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, Scielo, and Redalyc. We included
studies that had a research question focused on self-managed abortion; and
were published in English or Spanish. The combined search returned 7,167
studies; after screening, 99 studies were included in the analysis.
Included studies reported on methods, procurement, characteristics of
those who self-managed, effectiveness, safety, reasons for self-managed
abortion, and emotional and physical experiences. Numerous abortion
methods were reported, most frequently abortion with pills and herbs.
Eight out of nine studies reported an effectiveness of 70% or higher for
self-managed medication abortion with misoprostol alone or in combination
with mifepristone, at gestations ranging from <7 to >13
weeks. We identify gaps in the research, and make recommendations to
address those gaps.