An Audit of Loss of Pregnancy as an Answer to Differentiated Sex Ratio

Abstract

Context: Abortion and unintended pregnancy in India is on the rise, and a large proportion of these unintended pregnancies end up in induced abortion. The soaring rate of abortion among Indian women can be influenced by a plethora of reasons. Aims: 1) To identify the rate of second trimester abortion2) To determine the reasons behind second trimester abortions Settings and design: An audit of all the abortions in a district of South India was conducted. Material and methods: The data was obtained from the records of abortion reported in the year 2018 from the District Health Office and analysed. Statistical analysis used: Descriptive statistics Results: Majority of the pregnant ladies with abortion (55.73%) were aged between 21-30 years and abortions in second trimester were observed to be comparatively higher (50%). Among the myriad of reasons found for second trimester abortions, spontaneous abortions contributed to around 30% while 11.92% had no cause mentioned. Conclusion: A high rate of second trimester abortion throws suspicion towards sex selective abortions.