Embedded: The Network

What It Covers

Brazilian women developed a safe self-managed abortion method using misoprostol (Cytotec) in the 1980s, reducing maternal mortality by 21 percent and creating a global network that now operates across borders including the United States.

Key Questions Answered

• •Misoprostol dosage discovery: Brazilian women independently determined through experimentation that 800 micrograms (four pills) effectively induces abortion up to twelve weeks, matching what the World Health Organization now recommends as the safe standard dose for self-managed abortion.
• •Maternal mortality reduction: Between 1986-1991, Brazil's maternal mortality rate dropped 21 percent after women began using misoprostol instead of dangerous methods like coat hangers, herbs, or unsafe clinic procedures that previously caused perforations, hemorrhages, and infections requiring hysterectomies.
• •Knowledge distribution model: Eighty-four percent of women learned about misoprostol from friends, relatives, or colleagues rather than medical professionals, creating a decentralized network that spread effective abortion methods through word-of-mouth faster than formal medical channels could respond.
• •Cost accessibility factor: Misoprostol sold for approximately five dollars per box in early 1990s Brazil compared to five hundred dollars for private clinic abortions, making safe abortion accessible to poor women who previously resorted to life-threatening methods or died from complications.