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Monday, May 20, 2013

City saw 44% more abortions last year

Pratibha Masand & Malathy Iyer TNN

Mumbai: The city witnessed a 44% rise in the number of abortions last year, shows BMC data.
    While 19,701 abortions were registered in 2011, BMC data from various public and private hospitals and nursing homes in 2012 showed 28,455 abortions. Bhandup turned out to be the abortion capital in 2012 (it recorded 2,603 cases), Chembur was pretty close with 2,509 abortions and Andheri (east) ranked third with 2,489. The data was given in response to a query by RTI activist Chetan Kothari.
    However, health experts say that the steep increase in the number of abortions shouldn’t be linked to sexdetermination tests. “Most of these abortions have been carried out in the first trimester when it isn’t possible to detect the sex of the foetus,” said a doctor with a BMC hospital.
    So, what is the reason for the sudden increase? Public health officials say it is largely due to better reporting of data by hospitals brought on by computerisation.Abortion data reveals lack of options: Experts
Mumbai: The city witnessed a sharp 44% rise in abortions last year.
    “2012’s data is absolutely accurate in terms of reporting. Because of the stringent following of the PCPNDT law, most MTP centres started reporting abortions accurately,” said Dr Arun Bamne, BMC’s executive health officer. He added that some areas are bound to have more number of abortions owing to better healthcare facilities.
    In 2011-2012, the state government started a widespread crackdown on doctors and clinics for not adhering to the PCPNDT rules and took action against over 400 doctors. In the same period, it started a check on abortion clinics.
    Dr Rekha Daver, who heads the gynaecology department of the state government-run JJ Hospital in Byculla, believes computerization is the main reason. “Most hospitals have to report their numbers online to the government or local municipal corporation website. The 44% increase is most likely due to computerized reporting,” said Dr Daver.
    As per the government rules, the hospitals have to upload their statistics by the fifth of every month.
    Many experts feel there is another reason for the rising numbers—fewer options for women with regard to the method of abortion. After the government crackdown last year on doctors as well as on chemists stocking medical abortion pills, women have had no option but to opt for surgical abortion at hospitals.
    “Chemists stopped stocking medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) drugs and kits. Which is why more women may have opted for surgical abortions,” said Dr Nozer Sheriar, secretary general of Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India.
    Dr Nikhil Datar, a gynaecologist from northwestern suburbs, said, “It could be the result of better reporting of both medical and surgical abortions.’’
    A doctor working with a BMC hospital said that previously women went to non-certified quacks for medical abortions but now they are forced to go to registered practitioners after the crackdown on chemists by FDA. “So more medical abortions that were previously not registered are being registered now,’’ she said
    Incidentally, many feel abortion data rarely shows the entire picture. Non-governmental organizations feel abortions are under-reported. “In India, an estimated 6.6 million abortions take place each year. But the government records only 6.6 lakh of them,” said Dr Sheriar.
    Experts say that it is not possible to make out a pattern in the number of abortions over the years. “We cannot really say whether the number of abortions have gone up or not. Though with the increase in population, the number of abortions are bound to go up as abortions are always a certain percentage of the population; but the awareness about contraceptives has gone up too,” said Dr Sheriar.