Health professionals in the Asante-Akim North District have expressed alarm at the surge in unsafe abortion in the area.

Termination of unwanted pregnancy through the use of unorthodox practices is widespread and done not only by teenage girls but married women, Madam Constance Werekoaa Addae, a senior midwife at the Juansah Health Centre, said.

She said the situation was deeply worrying and warned that efforts at bringing down maternal deaths could be in futility if the trend was not reversed.

She said it could also hamper the attainment of the Millennium Development Goal on Maternal Mortality.

Madam Addae, contributing to discussions on Reproductive Health at a public forum at Konongo, said she found it difficult to rationalise why people continued to put their lives in danger by refusing to use legal and safe means to get rid of unwanted pregnancies.

She counseled those who found themselves in such situations to seek professional assistance.

The forum was organised by the Queen of Nyaboe, Nana Akua Missa, with support from the Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP), a Non Governmental Organisation.

It was to sensitise the public on the dangers associated with unsafe abortion.

Madam Addae said abortion “is allowed” under certain circumstances including rape and threat to the lives of mothers and called for sustained education campaign against unsafe abortion to prevent deaths.

Nana Missa underlined the need for increased acceptance of family planning methods, especially among married couples.

This is the way to go to protect them from getting pregnant when they were not ready to have children, she said.

Mr Opoku Onyinah, Asante-Akim Municipal Cultural Officer, urged a revisit of cultural practices that helped in the past to discourage pre-marital sex among adolescent girls.