




































 

 

                  ISSN : 2693 6356 

2019 | Vol 2 | Issue 1 

 

Research on Pregnancy Termination Services in Western Maharashtra 

 
1
Mr. Sanjay kumar Mallinath Mulaje M.Sc. Statistician cum Assistant Professor Department 

of Community Medicine, Dr. V. M. Government Medical College, Solapur. 
2
Dr. Digambar Mahadev Zombade, Professor, Walchand College of Arts & Science, Solapur. 

3
 Dr. Rakesh  Nandimath, MD Assistant Professor Department of Community Medicine, 

Dr. V. M. Government Medical College, Solapur. 

 
 

 
Abstract : 
Background: Fetal abnormalities, failure of birth control to prevent pregnancy, and, in very 

rare cases, rape are the most common reasons for medical abortion. 

Objectives: The goals of this study are (1) to determine when a medical abortion is 

appropriate and (2) to calculate the percentage of unwanted births attributable to failed birth 

control methods. 

Settings and Design: Using past data to draw conclusions. 

Methods and Material: A descriptive research was conducted using medical records from 

the past and included 747 women seeking abortion services. Participants were interviewed to 

collect data on demographics, contraception use, and the reasons for why they sought a 

medical abortion. 

Results: The vast majority of the women in our sample were in marital relationships. More 

over half of all births were the result of failed contraception, and 37.8% of all MTPs were 

performed because of a very high risk of congenital abnormalities. 

Conclusion: Since our research found that improper use of birth control was the leading 

cause of unwanted births, it stands to reason that reducing this problem would require raising 

awareness about the need of using birth control, providing enough follow-up with the 

contraceptive acceptor, and inspiring the user to stay motivated. 

Keywords: Ineffective contraception, abnormal fetal development, illiteracy, and MTP 

 
 

INTRODUCTION: 

Medical abortion has been legal in India 

under certain circumstances since the MTP 

Act was implemented in 1971. In 2003, the 

Act was amended to increase women's 

access to MTP treatments that were both 

safe and legal. [1] The MTP Amendment 

Act 2021 expanded access to safe MTP 

treatments for all women on the basis of 

contraceptive failure and increased the 

gestational limit to 24 weeks for certain 

categories of women. Consultation, 

treatment, hospitalization, medicine, USG, 

and following treatments for surgical MTP 

are all included in the fixed price of 15,500 

(US$190). The government's Ayushman 

Bharat and Employees' State Insurance 

programs pay the whole cost of MTP. The 

consultation and USG are included in the 

$1,500 ($19) price of medical MTP 

packages. [2] 

Women who have adverse psychological 

responses to MTP are more likely to have 

unintended pregnancies and to not utilize 

birth control. Women who are single, 

young, religiously conservative, or 

undergoing the procedure against their will 

are statistically more likely to have a 

negative psychological response. India has 

a right to MTP, but it would be wise to pay 

greater attention to the factors (such as 

poverty, illiteracy, lack of contraceptive 

knowledge or availability, lack of follow-

up with those who take them, and lack of 

drive) that make it so desperately 

needed.[3] 

 

MATERIALS AND METHODS 



 

 

 
A postgraduate institution in western 

Maharashtra was the site of a retrospective 

record-based descriptive research. Medical 

termination of pregnancy records were 

kept at institutions.  

inside the MTP database. From April 2017 

through March 2022, data were collected 

from the MTP registration. Information on 

demographics, contraceptive use, and 

causes of unplanned pregnancies was 

collected from 747 women who sought 

MTP.Data analysis 

Microsoft Excel was used to do the 

statistical analysis. Age, religion, marital 

status, and other demographics of the 

patient population were recorded 

statistically. 

 

RESULTS 

 
Table 1: Distribution of women according to demographic characteristics and duration 

of pregnancy 
 

Characteristics Subgroup Total (n=747), n (%) 

 

 
 

Age (yrs) 

Below 15 10 (1.3) 

15-19 64 (8.6) 

20-24 320 (42.8) 

25-29 224 (30.0) 

30-34 96 (12.9) 

35-39 28 (3.7) 

40-44 05 (0.7) 

 
Religion 

Hindu 651 (87.1) 

Muslim 93 (12.5) 

Christian 02 (0.3) 

Other 01 (0.1) 

 

Present Marital status 

Married 686 (91.8) 

Unmarried 60 (8.0) 

Separated 01 (0.2) 

 

Socio-economic class 

III (Middle class) 98 (13.2) 

IV (Lower middle class) 358 (47.9) 

V (Lower class) 291 (38.9) 

 
 

Education 

Illiterate 43 (5.8) 

Primary 258 (34.5) 

Secondary 273 (36.6) 

Higher secondary 106 (14.2) 

Graduate & above 67 (8.9) 

 
No. of living children 

Still no any 51 (6.8) 

One child 135 (18.1) 

Two children 267 (35.7) 

More than Two children 294 (39.4) 

 

Duration of pregnancy 

Below 12 weeks 384 (51.4) 

Between 12 to 20 weeks 361 (48.3) 

Above 20 weeks 02 (0.3) 



 

 

Several demographic characteristics of 

women who have undergone MTP are 

shown in Table 1. The women's ages 

ranged from 13 to 44, with the average 

being 24.9 ( 5.0) years. Among those 747 

ladies, Hindus made up the vast majority 

(87.1%), followed by Muslims (12.4%), 

Christians (0.3%), and other religions. The 

largest percentage of women were between 

the ages of 20 and 24 (42.8%), followed by 

9.9% of women between the ages of 15 

and 19, and 1.3% of women younger than 

15; just 5% (0.7%) of women were 

between the ages of 40 and 44. The 

majority of women (91.9%) were wed. The 

majority of MTPs (51.4% of all cases) 

occurred in the first 12 weeks of 

pregnancy, followed by 48.3% of cases 

occurring between weeks 12 and 20, and 

0.3% of cases occurring beyond week 20. 

According to the modified B. G. Prasad 

categorization system, 47.9% of the 

women in this research were from lower-

middle-class families, 38.9% were from 

the lower class, and 13.2% were from the 

middle class. 

Table 2: Distribution of abortions as per indication of MTP 
 

Indication of termination N (%) 

Danger to life of pregnant women 10 (1.3) 

Grave injury to physical health of pregnant women 05 (0.7) 

Grave injury to mental health of pregnant women 07 (0.9) 

Pregnancy caused by rape 51 (6.8) 

Substantial risk that if the baby born it would suffer 

from physical, mental, seriously handicapped 

282 (37.8) 

Failure to contraceptive devices 392 (52.5) 

Total 747 (100) 

 
 

Table 2 depicts various indications of 

MTP, in which 392 (52.4%) MTP were 

only due to failure of the use of 

contraceptive devices and 282 (37.7%) 

MTP were due to substantial risk to 

foetus. Rape was one of the critical issues 

in society which leads to MTP, in our 

study such MTP led to 6.8% of the total 

MTP. Most of the women (71.1%) were 

educated up to primary or secondary 

school, while 14.2% were studied up to 

higher secondary & 8.9% were graduates 

& above; 5.8% women were illiterate. 
 

DISCUSSION 
Women in this research ranged in age from 

13 to 44, which is quite comparable to the 

age ranges covered in a study by Susheela 

Singh et al. [4], which went from 15 to 45. 

This research finds that women's average 

ages are somewhat lower than those found 

in the work of Anupama Bahadur and 

colleagues (25.0 5.0 years). [5] The vast 

majority of MTP patients were married 

(91.8%), a result consistent with V M 

Lema's research (91.3%). [6] According to 

the modified B. G. Prasad categorization, 

more than four-fifths (86.8%) of the 

population consists of women from Class 

IV and Class V. This finding is similar to 

that of a study by Bhawna Sharma et al., in 

which 74.5 percent of the population 

consisted of women from classes IV and 

V, who were found to be more likely to 

experience unintended pregnancies due to 

their lack of education and social standing 

and their lack of knowledge about safe 

MTP methods. 

The majority of the women were Hindu 

(87.1%), which may be attributable to a 

lack of knowledge or less acceptance of 

MTP among other religions; such a finding 

matched with a study by Bhawna Sharma 

et al. and should be investigated further for 

better health program implementation in 

the society.Most of the women in the 

current research had completed elementary 

or secondary school, similar to the findings 

of the studies by Bhawna Sharma et al[7] 

and Ganguly et al.The current research 

found that 6.8% of all MTPs occurred in 

the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, with the 

majority of these pregnancies being the 

result of teenage rape. While P Bhate-

Deosthali and colleagues [9] found that the 



 

 

majority of rape survivors who sought 

MTP did so before 20 weeks, those results 

contradict the current research. 

Women who chose MTP in this research 

were more likely to have two or more live 

children (75.1%) than to have one 

surviving kid (18.1%) or no living children 

(6.8%). Ram et al. found that among 

married women in Calcutta, 69% had more 

than two children and 31% had two 

children or less, highlighting an unmet 

demand for family planning services. [10] 

 

Similar to the research by Katke RD et al 

[11], in which failure of contraceptive was 

the predominant rationale (257 instances), 

this study found that 52.5% of MTPs were 

justified on this basis. This highlights the 

need for more accessible means of 

contraception, the value of thorough 

counseling, and the need of regular 

contraceptive usage.[12] 

 

CONCLUSION 
An important indicator of the need for 

effective contraception and the tools and 

knowledge to support it is the occurrence of 

an unintended pregnancy, which may lead 

to miscarriage, unwanted birth, and MTP. 

Women who have these kinds of 

pregnancies may not be taking any kind of 

contraception, may be using it incorrectly or 

inconsistently, or may be using an 

antiquated method (usually periodic 

abstinence or withdrawal) to avoid 

pregnancy. "Unintended pregnancy" may 

also refer to pregnancies that are considered 

harmful to the mother's health for reasons 

unrelated to the use of contraception, such 

as sexual assault, a change in the woman's 

or family's social or economic position, or 

the onset of a medical condition. Broad 

social and economic changes related to the 

desire for smaller families, such as 

urbanization, improvements in women's 

educational attainment, and shifting gender 

roles, may have an impact on the intention 

status of pregnancies and the need for 

contraceptive services at the macro 

level.[13] 

Donations and patronage: Nil No potential 

conflicts of interest exist. 
 

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