Perceptions and Practices of Married Women Regarding Medical Abortion in an Urbanized Village of South Delhi, India

Introduction: Unwanted or unintended pregnancy is common and in such a case access to safe abortion services is a women’s right. The MTP act of 1971 has provisions which make abortion services available and accessible freely. MTP pills make first trimester abortions possible safely without having to undergo any surgical procedure. But lack of correct knowledge limits its safe use. Objectives: To study the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices related to use of medical abortion pills among married women in an urbanized village of Delhi. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 224 married women in reproductive age group residing in an urbanized village of Delhi. Mixed quantitative and qualitative methodology was used in Data collection and analysis. Results: 69.2% women were under 30 years of age. 79.7% women had at-least two children and 26.4% had at least one abortion. 69.64% women knew about at least one method of abortion (Medical or Surgical). Only 38.8% women knew that abortions are legal. 61.1% had heard about abortion “pills”. Of them, as many as 41% said these pills can be procured directly from the chemist. Only 5.8% had correct knowledge regarding use of these pills. Misconceptions about side effects were also common.50% said they would feel shy to discuss these pills with a male doctor. 12.5% reported using medical abortion pills, though ever having unplanned pregnancy was reported by 52.2% women. 78.57% of the women reporting MTP pill use, took the medicines directly from the chemist. Conclusion: Though the general attitude towards use of medical abortions was positive in the community, there were widespread misconceptions. There is an urgent need to increase the awareness about hazards of self-medication of medical abortion pills.