Of the 7.6 million abortions that took place in 2015 in the six study states, 77% or 5.8 million were carried out through non-facility MMA.
Business
Standard : Four out of five abortions in Gujarat, Bihar and
Uttar Pradesh are induced using a drug or a combination of drugs,
according to a new study.
While
this medical method of abortion
(MMA) has a success rate of 95%-98% if administered properly and
before nine weeks of gestation, the study found that the lack of
medical supervision has resulted in a significant number of botched
abortions in India.
Incomplete
abortions after the use of pills caused 65% of complications in women
seeking post- abortion care in Assam, 59% in UP and 51% in Bihar,
stated the report. The method was legalised in India by amending MTP
act in 2002 to strengthen access to safe abortions up to seven weeks
and it is still considered one of the safest and most effective
measures.
The
report ‘The Incidence of Abortion and Unintended Pregnancies in Six
Indian States’, published on November 13, 2018, provides data for
Assam, Gujarat, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh,
which together account for 45% of women of reproductive age in India.
The study was conducted jointly by Indian Institute for Population
Sciences, Mumbai, Population Council, New Delhi and New York-based
Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that promotes
reproductive health and rights globally.
The
prime reason for the abortion complications, the study found, was
that women did not undergo the stipulated 15-day procedure for
termination of pregnancy which requires at least two visits to a
health facility.
Of
the 7.6 million abortions that took place in 2015 in the six study
states, 77% or 5.8 million were carried out through non-facility MMA
and Uttar Pradesh alone accounted for 2.6 million.
The
guidelines in the Handbook for MMA, issued by the ministry of health
and family welfare, require that Mifepristone and Misoprostol, the
two-drug regimen used to induce abortion, can only be provided only
by a registered medical practitioner or a government hospital. But,
the UPAI study found that most women obtained it from informal
vendors and chemists. This means that they are not counselled and
lack adequate information about the usage and side-effects of these
drugs.
No comments:
Post a Comment