Teenage Marriages and Induced Abortion among Women of Reproductive Age Group (15-49 Years) Residing in an Urbanized Village of Delhi

Abstract

Introduction: Teenage pregnancy is one of the important public health concerns because unsafe induced abortions are also common among them. Objectives: To find out history of teenage marriages and determinants of induced abortion among women of reproductive age group residing in an urbanized village of Delhi. Material & Methods: A community-based, cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out involving 320 women of reproductive age group (15-49 yrs.) resident of an urbanized village of Delhi who were selected by simple random sampling after getting their informed consent. Study tool was pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire containing closed-ended and open-ended questions on socio-demographic profile, age of marriage, obstetrics history, abortion history and complications after induced abortion. The data was collected, compiled and entered in MS-Excel and analyzed with the help of SPSS version 21.0. Association between the groups was accepted statistically significant when p<0.05. Results: Majority (82.2%) of the women were of age group 25-49 yrs. While 17.8% of the study subjects were of 15-24 yrs. age group. 49.7% of the women accepted that they had solemnized their marriages in teen age. About 40% women were having a history of abortion in their lifetime and one-fourth (25%) women underwent induced abortion. Among induced abortion cases, more than half (54%) of the study subjects underwent unsafe abortions and more common was in adolescent age group. Conclusion: Teenage pregnancy and unsafe induced abortion are common in an urbanized village. Preventive strategies such as reduction in the unsafe abortion, raising awareness regarding various contraceptive measures, reduction in unmet need of family planning and accessibility of safe abortion services are urgently required.