The women were recruited in two ways. Women
who had sought counselling at a hospital were
approached by a member of the hospital’s health
team, before they were discharged, who asked if
the research team could interview them. These
interviews took place at the hospital. To reach
women who did not attend a health care facility,
snowball sampling techniques were used. Through
women’s organizations in the community and
through personal networks, we sought referrals
of women who had had a self-induced medical
abortion in the previous 12 months. In some
cases, the contact person referred more than
one woman to us. In other cases, an interviewee
referred another woman to us. In each case, the
contact person asked the women if the research
team could interview them