Sociodemographic and reproductive characteristics of women allocated to immediate or delayed insertion of the copper intrauterine device after medical abortion at 17–20 weeks’ gestation
| Characteristic | Intention-to-treat (n=112) | Non-randomised, observational comparison (n=110) | ||
| Immediate group (n=55) | Delayed group (n=57) | Immediate group (n=45) | Delayed group (n=65) | |
| Age (years) | 27 (22–32) | 29 (24–33) | 27 (22–32) | 28 (23–33) |
| Home language | ||||
| English | 7 (12.7) | 14 (24.6) | 6 (13.3) | 15 (23.1) |
| Afrikaans | 3 (5.5) | 5 (8.8) | 2 (4.4) | 5 (13.3) |
| Xhosa/other African language | 45 (81.8) | 38 (66.7) | 37 (82.2) | 45 (69.2) |
| Highest level of education completed | ||||
| Some high school | 22 (40.0) | 31 (54.4) | 18 (40.0) | 33 (50.8) |
| High school or tertiary | 33 (60.0) | 26 (45.6) | 27 (60.0) | 32 (49.2) |
| Housing | ||||
| House | 21 (38.2) | 29 (50.9) | 17 (37.8) | 33 (50.8) |
| Flat/student residence | 3 (5.5) | 8 (14.0) | 2 (4.4) | 8 (12.3) |
| Shack/Wendy house | 31 (56.4) | 20 (35.1) | 26 (57.8) | 24 (36.9) |
| Income | ||||
| Employed | 23 (41.8) | 25 (43.9) | 18 (40.0) | 29 (44.6) |
| Unemployed on social grant | 7 (12.7) | 8 (14.0) | 6 (13.1) | 8 (12.3) |
| Unemployed, no social grant | 25 (45.5) | 24 (42.1) | 21 (46.7) | 28 (43.1) |
| Ever go without food | ||||
| Never | 43 (78.2) | 45 (79.0) | 35 (77.8) | 52 (80.0) |
| Sometimes/seldom | 12 (21.8) | 12 (21.1) | 10 (22.2) | 13 (20.0) |
| Parity | ||||
| 0 | 12 (21.8) | 11 (19.3) | 10 (22.2) | 13 (20.0) |
| 1 | 17 (30.9) | 15 (26.3) | 14 (31.1) | 17 (26.2) |
| 2+ | 26 (47.3) | 31 (54.4) | 21 (46.7) | 35 (53.9) |
| Prior abortion | 5 (9.1) | 7 (12.3) | 5 (11.1) | 7 (10.8) |
| Contraception used in last 6 months | ||||
| None | 21 (38.2) | 24 (42.1) | 19 (42.2) | 25 (38.5) |
| Implant | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.8) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.5) |
| Injectables/pills | 30 (54.6) | 31 (54.4) | 22 (48.9) | 38 (58.5) |
| Condoms only | 4 (7.3) | 1 (1.8) | 4 (8.9) | 1 (1.5) |
| Gestational age at abortion (weeks)* | 19.0 (18.6–19.4) | 19.3 (19.0–19.4) | 19.0 (18.6–19.4) | 19.3 (19.0–19.4) |
Data are presented as median (IQR) or n (%).
*Intention-to-treat comparison: p=0.03.