Ectopic pregnancy and unsupervised abortion pills: the hidden truth

Authors

  • Neha Singh Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kamla Nehru Hospital, IGMC Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
  • Kushla Pathania Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kamla Nehru Hospital, IGMC Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
  • Kalpna Negi Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kamla Nehru Hospital, IGMC Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
  • Sanjay Rathod Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kamla Nehru Hospital, IGMC Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20220171

Keywords:

Over the counter. MTP pills, Incomplete abortion, Rupture uterus, Ectopic pregnancy

Abstract

Background: Aim of the study was the indiscriminate use of self-consumption of abortion pills and its association with complication like ectopic pregnancy reporting to a tertiary care center.

Methods: The study was a prospective observational study conducted in the department of obstetrics and gynecology, Kamla Nehru State hospital for mother and child, Indira Gandhi medical college Shimla w.e.f. 1st July 2018 to 30th June 2019. A total of 27 women reported to the hospital who were diagnosed of having ectopic pregnancy after intake of abortion pills.

Results: A total of 27 cases presented to the hospital who were diagnosed to have ectopic pregnancy. Maximum 18 (67%) cases were in 21-30 years of age group. Married women constituted 21 (77%) cases. The 14 (52%) belonged to rural area while 13 (48%) belonged to urban area. The chemist was found to be source of procurement in 19 (70%) cases, private practitioner in 6 (22%) cases and only two consumed pills after consultation with registered doctor.

Conclusions: This study shows urgent need for legislation and restriction of drugs used for medical termination of pregnancy. Drugs should be made available via health care facilities under supervision to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity due to indiscriminate use of these pills.

 

References

Munshi KS, Thaker RV, Shah JM, Mewada BN. Self-medication of abortion pills and its complication: an observational study. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2018;7:205-9.

Agarwal M, Datta A. How safe are over the counter abortion pills-differences between its intended and practical usage and its implications- a study conducted in a tertiary care centre in Shillong, Meghalaya, India. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2016;5:3036-4.

Sarojini, Ashakiran TR, Bhanu BT, Radhika. Over the counter MTP pills and its impact on Women’s Health. J Obstet Gynecol India. 2017;67(1):37-41.

Government of India. The Medical Termination of pregnancy act, no.34;1971. Available at: http://tcw.nic.in/acts/MTP-act-1971. Pdf Assessed on 26 June 2018.

Government of India. The medical Termination of pregnancy Rules (Amendment); 2002. Available at: https://mohfw.gov.in/acts-rules-and-standards-health.../acts/MTP-act-amendment-2002. Assessed on 26 June 2018.

WHO. Fact sheet: Safe abortion: technical and policy guidance for health systems, second edition, 2012 available at: http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/unsafe_abortion/9789241548434/en/. Accessed on 17 October 2018.

Thaker RV, Deliwala KJ, Shah PT. Self-Medication of Abortion Pill: Women’s Health in Jeopardy. NHL J Med Sci. 2014;3(1):26-31.

Mishra A, Yadav A, Malik S, Purwar R, Kumari S. Over the counter sale of drugs for medical abortion- knowledge, attitude and Practices of pharmacists of Delhi, India. Int J Pharma Res. 2016;6(3):92-6.

Verma S, Ranjan R, Batra M. Case control study of supervised and unsupervised medical abortion in first trimester of pregnancy. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2016;5(7):2367-71.

Debnath J, Gulati SK, Mathur A, Gupta R, Kumar N, Arora S. Ectopic pregnancy in the Era of Medical Abortion: Are We Ready for it? Spectrum of Sonographic Findings and Our Experience in a Tertiary Care Service Hospital of India. J Obstet Gynecol India. 2013;63(6):388-93.

Joshi AP, Chitrakar NS, Pariyar J, Shrestha I, Maharjan R, Maharjan P. Undiagnosed Ectopic Pregnancy among Unsupervised use of Medical Abortion pills. Nepal J Obstet Gynecol. 2016;22(2):12-5.

Bajwa SK, Bajwa SJS, Ghai GK, Singh N, Singh A, Goraya SPS. Medical abortion: Is it a blessing or curse for the developing nations? Srilanka J Obstet Gynecol. 2011;33(3):84-90.

Giri A, Srivastav VR, Suwal A, Sharma B. A study of Complications following self-administration with Medical Abortion Pills. Nepal J Obstet Gynecol. 2015;19(1):20-4.

Bhalla S, Goyal LD, Bhalla S, Kaur B. Self-administered medical abortion pills: evaluation of the clinical outcome and complications among women presenting with unsupervised pill intake to a tertiary care hospital in Malwa region of Punjab, India. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2018;7(4):1537-42.

Downloads

Published

2022-01-28

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles