Teenage Marriages and Induced Abortion among Women of Reproductive Age Group (15-49 Years) Residing in an Urbanized Village of Delhi
Journal Title: Indian Journal of Youth and Adolescent Health - Year 2019, Vol 6, Issue 1
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.
Authors and Affiliations
Sneha Kumari, Jugal Kishore, Vandana Pandit, Aparnavi P, Mukesh Kumar, Shalini Smanla
Menstrual Hygiene Practices among Adolescent Girls in a Rural Area of Kanyakumari District of Tamilnadu
Background: Menstruation is the main pubertal change that occurs in adolescent girls and is the process of growth & maturation and prepare them for motherhood It is surrounded by various customs, myths and tabo...
Perceptions of Body Image among Youth in a Selected University of Gurugram
Background and Objective: It is observed that body image is significantly important to young people. They spend considerable amount of time and money in looking lean, fair and other beauty parameters, which are usually c...
A Study to Assess Various Problems Faced by Street Children of Bhopal City
Introduction: Like all other children, although street children have the basic right to develop, survive and thrive, they encounter innumerable problems. To do so, at first it is necessary to address these children in te...
Effectiveness of School-based Education on Levels of Knowledge, Attitude and Expressed Practices Regarding Prevention of Sexual Abuse among Schoolers at Selected Schools, Vellore
Child sexual abuse includes any activity that uses a child to create sexual gratification either in themselves or in others. The intent to use children in any way to create sexual arousal is illegal. This criminal behavi...
Knowledge and Attitude towards HIV/AIDS among Tribal Youth of Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya
India is estimated to have third highest number of HIV infections in the world with more than 2.4 million HIV/ AIDS-infected people. Youths often face a significant barrier to get the HIV-related information, education a...