more likely to be born with a low birth weight, be breastfed for fewer months, and experience developmental problems.8 These children are particularly at risk when they are born soon after a sibling. International studies show that children who were born less than two years after a sibling are less likely to survive than those born after an interval of three or more years.9
Abortion is another maternal health risk associated with unin- tended pregnancy when the procedure is performed in an unsanitary setting or by unskilled medical personnel. Women in MENA are particularly at risk because a majority live in countries where abortion is restricted; women in these countries who want to terminate an unintended pregnancy resort to clandestine abortions, which are often performed unsafely.10 Only about 20 percent of MENA’s population lives in the two countries in the region where abortion is legal on request during the rst trimester of pregnancy—Tunisia and Turkey.11
Women having an unsafe abortion face the risk of life-threat- ening complications that place additional demands on scarce health resources. Many women having an unsafe abortion may not seek medical care at all or receive it very late. A study in Egypt—where abortion is highly restricted—found that treatment of complications of unsafe abortion consumed a large share
of resources in a nationally representative sample of hospitals. Almost one in every ve obstetrical and gynecological hospital admissions in Egypt was for post-abortion care.12