Awareness about Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act among The Married Women: An Observational Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Foetal sex determination and sex-selective abortions by medical professionals has grown today into a thousand crore industry. In the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique (Regulation and Misuse) Act, 1994 amendment was done and titled as Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique (Prohibition of sex selection) Act (PC-PNDT ACT) 2003 for improvement in technology-related sex determination regulation. Aims and Objectives: 1. To find out awareness about PCPNDT Act among the married women in the community and to determine their sociodemographic factors influencing this awareness. 2. To assess the reasons for gender Based family composition and violation of laws. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based observational study was carried out among the married women in the reproductive age group attending Dr. Vithalrao Vikhe Patil Memorial Hospital in Ahmednagar District. The 100 study participants were administered a preformed questionnaire of about ten questions on the PCPNDT Act. The data obtained was analyzed and expressed in percentage, and statistical analysis was done. Results: The majority of the participants (81%) were aware of the act amended by the Government for the prevention of female feticide. A large number of participants (60%) would prefer to know the sex of their unborn child, and also 9% of them would terminate the pregnancy if the sex was revealed to be a female. A large number of participants (85%) were aware that there is punishment for both doctors who facilitate and patients who seek pre-natal sex determination. Conclusion: The study found that most of the participants were aware of the possibility and techniques of pre-natal sex determination. More than half of the participants were aware of the law enacted by the Government. Still, they should be educated about the importance of maintaining the falling sex ratio and prevention of female feticide.