Robert Kumwenda, Zambia’s Senior Registrar for Gynecology Department, Chipata District Hospital has urged women against using sticks and wires to terminate pregnancies.

It is alleged that most of Zambian women uses sticks and wires to get rid of their unwanted pregnancies.

Dr Kumwenda has since called on to desist from using unsafe means to terminate pregnancies to avoid infections.

He said women intending to terminate their pregnancies should be visiting hospitals because the law has some provisions which allow termination of pregnancy using safe means.

“We have seen women use sticks, literally poking into the uterus through the cervix, and you can imagine someone poking a stick.

“In other scenarios, we have seen others using wires, literally poking a wire and they come to the hospital when they have destroyed the structure of the vagina and uterus, so you have to be at pains to help them” Dr Kumwenda said.

Dr Kumwenda said it is dangerous for women to terminate pregnancies on their own.

Eastern Province records 1,536 unsafe abortions as women poke cervix using wires, sticks.