The Guttmacher Institute’s work in Latin America and the Caribbean has focused on documenting the incidence and outcomes of unintended pregnancy and abortion and on exploring the informal acquisition of misoprostol. The Institute also has estimated age-specific abortion rates and health system costs of providing postabortion care; documented adolescents’ knowledge and use of sexual and reproductive health information and services; and assessed the provision of sex education and advocated that it be fact-based, comprehensive and responsive to their needs.
The Institute's ongoing Adding It Up project provides estimates (regional, subregional and country-specific) of the needs for modern contraception, maternal and newborn care, and abortion-related services among women in low- and middle-income Latin American and Caribbean countries and territories. This work also estimates the costs and impacts of meeting these needs, providing policymakers across the region with evidence that investment in improving and increasing the provision of sexual and reproductive health services saves lives, improves women’s health and well-being, and has broad societal benefits.
In addition, the Unintended Pregnancy and Abortion Worldwide study has produced model-based estimates of the incidence of unintended pregnancy and abortion in Latin American and Caribbean countries and territories for the period 1990–2019. Such estimates provide an opportunity to assess trends in unintended pregnancy and abortion over time for individual countries and territories, as well as regionally and globally.
