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Volume 12 Issue 2 ( April- June) 2023

Original Articles

Inadvertent use of medical abortion pills: A cause of concern
Dr. Seema Saran, Dr. Himanshu Roy

Background: Medical Methods of Abortion are gaining popularity and fast becoming the preferred mode of termination of early pregnancy. Although slated to be safe in various studies, they are not without ill effects in taken indiscriminately. A recent trend has been to procure these drugs over-the-counter and consume them unsupervised. Objectives: To study the demographic trends of the patients coming with adverse effects of medical abortion pills and to ascertain any common factors which help provide an insight into any social trends influencing the use of the same. Methods: This study was an observational study conducted in a semi urban district of Western Uttar Pradesh. A total of 144 women coming with side effects of home ingestion of medical abortion pills were studied over a period of 5 months. Results: The most common presenting complaint was persistent bleeding per vaginum which was seen in 77%. A few patients came in hemorrhagic shock and needed blood transfusions (2.1%). 4.9% of women came with ectopic pregnancy. 133 women (92.36%) procured these drugs over-the-counter without taking advice from any registered medical practitioner. The dosage schedule was also improper. The educational status and area of residence (urban or rural) did not seem to be significantly affecting the choices made by these women as in both these groups p value >0.05. Conclusion: Medical abortion pills, though proven to be safe and convenient, can prove harmful when taken unsupervised. Easy availability of medical abortion drugs over- the-counter is a problem that needs to be acknowledged and addressed by the policy makers. Social trends also need to be studied regarding to the choices made by women for unwanted pregnancies.

 
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