Acceptability and practice of contraception and frequency of induced abortions in married women of reproductive age group, in a tertiary-care hospital

Abstract

Background: India is the second most populous country in the world having a rapidly growing population. There is an unmet need of contraception in our country. This is responsible for unintended pregnancy and consequences related to induce abortions. This study is an effort to find out the acceptability and practice of contraceptive methods and induced abortions in married women. Objective: To find out the acceptability and practice of contraceptive methods in married women of reproductive age group and to evaluate the reasons for nonuse of contraception and number of induced abortions because of unintended pregnancy. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was carried out in Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, SGRRIM&HS, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. Totally, 116 married women aged between 18 and 45 years were interviewed. Data were collected, after obtaining consent on a predesigned questionnaire containing sociodemographic details, reproductive profile, use of contraceptive method, side effects, and reasons of not using any contraceptive method. In case of unintended pregnancies, number of induced abortions and their method were also asked from the respondent. Results: In this study, the use of contraceptive methods was 73.28%. The most common method used was condom in 24.23% couples. Totally, 67.05% women did not report any side effect, while 22.35% women reported menstrual disturbance as main side effects with use of contraceptive method. The major reasons for nonuse of contraception were fear of side effects (29.03%), need more children (19.35%), prohibition by the religion (12.90%), and desire for male child (9.67%). A significant number of induced abortion (14.89%) were done without any medical supervision. Conclusion: There are various reasons for the nonacceptance of contraceptives such as fear of side effects, prohibition by religion, and preference for male child. These unintended pregnancies that were getting terminated reveal the unmet need of contraception. Thus, by proper counseling, motivation, and improving facilities at both government and private sectors, the unmet need of contraception can be achieved.