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Health Risks Of Repeated Abortions In India

Written By: Sonali
April 11, 2022

Highlights

  • Reasons associated with repeated abortions in India
  • Reasons for unsafe abortions in India
  • Common side effects
  • Complications
  • Health risks
  • The emotional phase
  • Quick Read
  • Full Read

Abortion is one of the most common health interventions. It is safe when carried out using the methods suggested by WHO. But did you know 6 out of 10 of all unintended pregnancies lead to abortion, and about 56% of all abortions in India are unsafe?

Women with low socioeconomic status are at higher risk of abortion due to unplanned pregnancy. Studies also revealed that older women are at a greater risk of having an abortion compared to younger women.

Furthermore, lack of sex education among girls and women also significantly contributes to unplanned pregnancies, leading to induced abortions.

Abortion, as most women are aware, can also add potential side effects and risks to your body and future health. Women experience different emotions after an abortion. Some may feel relief that the procedure is over, while others may feel sad, empty, or guilty.

Read to know more!

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Abortion is one of the most common health interventions. It is safe when carried out using the methods suggested by WHO. But did you know 6 out of 10 of all unintended pregnancies lead to abortion, and about 56% of all abortions in India are unsafe?

Unsafe abortion leads to mental and physical health complications and financial and social burdens for women and health systems. Lack of access to timely, safe, respectful, and affordable abortion care is the most common public health issue at this juncture.

Since the introduction of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act in 1971, abortion in India has been legal under different circumstances. In 2003, the act was amended to enable women’s accessibility to legal and safe abortion services.

Reasons associated with repeated abortions in India

Abortions can be due to multiple socio-demographic factors like sex, age, race, education, religion, family income, occupational status, and individual health.

Women with low socioeconomic status are at higher risk of abortion due to unplanned pregnancy. Studies also revealed that older women are at a greater risk of having an abortion compared to younger women.

Moreover, female sex workers suffering from sexually transmitted diseases and HIV also opt for an abortion. They also bump into unplanned pregnancies due to a lack of awareness and knowledge on the use of condoms and contraceptives.

Furthermore, lack of sex education among girls and women also significantly contributes to unplanned pregnancies, leading to induced abortions.

[ALSO READ: How To Prevent A Pregnancy?]

Reasons for unsafe abortions in India

Due to various social and economic barriers, abortions are considered highly unsafe for some women. In fact, unsafe abortions are the third leading cause of maternal deaths in the country, contributing to 8% of all such deaths every year, with 13 women dying each day. 

Some of the reasons why women opt for abortion outside the authorized abortions centres are:

  • High costs at hospitals in the cities. The charges of the private sector are huge and unaffordable for poor people.
  • Women are unaware of the need to seek abortion early in pregnancy.
  • Women are unable to fulfil the requirements as per the MTP act, thus leading to unsafe means.
  • Absence of competent health professionals and poor quality of care in government hospitals in the rural area as these areas lack registered medical infrastructure, supplies, and providers.
  • Hesitation in obtaining services from known neighbourhood hospitals due to lack of confidentiality.

Abortion, as most women are aware, can also add potential side effects and risks to your body and future health.

Common side effects

  • Bleeding
  • Cramping
  • Dizziness
  • Vomiting
  • Drowsiness

Complications

  • Excessive bleeding
  • Damage to cervix or womb
  • Septic shock or sepsis
  • Uterine perforation
  • Incomplete abortion
  • Uterus infection
  • Scarring on the inside of the uterus

[ALSO READ: Did You Know That These Things Can Lead To Infertility?]

Health risks

  • Future preterm deliveries

Abortion increases a women’s risk of future pre-term deliveries because it weakens the cervix. In two recent studies, it was found that one induced abortion increases the risk of pre-term birth subsequently by between 25% and 27%.

After repeated abortions, a women’s risk of pre-term birth increases between 51% and 62%. Premature births carry serious health risks for infants.

Infants who are born before 37 weeks have a lower chance of living to adulthood. Those surviving have a significant risk of severe disabilities such as intellectual impairment, cerebral palsy, autism, and psychological development disorders.

  • Breast cancer

Abortion is considered to interrupt the normal cycle of hormones during pregnancy. It is believed that this interruption might increase the risk of developing breast cancer in women.

A 2013 analysis reported a 44% increased risk of breast cancer among women who had a minimum of one induced abortion. For those who had repeated abortions, the risk increased to 76% and 89%, respectively.

  • Mental health

Women who have had repeated abortions are at an increased risk for mental health problems. Nearly 10% of the incidence of mental health problems was due to abortion.

Some of the post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms such as grief, regret, guilt, suicidal thoughts, sadness and anxiety were seen among women who had an abortion.

  • STDs and pelvic inflammatory disease

Chlamydia present in the cervical canal during the abortion in asymptomatic women increases the risk of postabortal. Among women suffering from Chlamydia infection during the abortion, 23% develop Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) within four weeks.

PID can lead to serious problems like ectopic pregnancy, infertility, chronic pelvic pain, and abscess formation.

[ALSO READ: The Right Age To Plan A Pregnancy!]

  • Abortion and sexual dysfunction

Some women also experience sexual dysfunction after abortion. Problems such as decreased sexual desire, increased vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, and loss of orgasm ability are seen among women with early pregnancy termination.

  •  Infertility and future childbearing

Induced abortion can result in complications such as damage to the uterus and infection, which can lead to infertility and increased risks of future childbearing.

The risk of these complications increases in women who have a high risk of uncontrolled high blood pressure, uterine rupture, diabetes, severe kidney, lung, or liver disease, certain heart or blood vessel diseases, smoke heavily and take blood thinners or certain steroid medications.

Cervical incompetence symptoms were seen among 75% of women who undergo forced dilation for abortion.

[Data Source]

The emotional phase

Women experience different emotions after an abortion. Some may feel relief that the procedure is over, while others may feel sad, empty, or guilty.

Some women have reported serious psychological effects such as depression, anxiety, grief, regret, flashbacks, substance abuse, and lower self-esteem after their abortion. These emotions may appear gradually over a long duration or immediately after an abortion. These feelings may reoccur after another abortion.

In such situations, counselling or support before and after is very important. Talking to a professional counsellor will help women better understand their decisions and the feelings they might experience after abortion.

Infano believes every woman, despite their age, sexuality, and demographics, should have complete rights over their body and decisions. If you are someone with a story to share, reach out to us — share it with us and the world. Let there be love and hope!

AbortionsAbortions In Indiahealth riskhealthy pregnancymental healthpregnancySex EducationUnplanned PregnancyUnsafe Abortions

Sonali

A 'non-9-5 desk job' ambivert geek who chooses her own audience, Sonali loves sharing stories and finding the corners where humanity still exists! She believes that every individual's story is unique and special. She loves writing about the untouched and unspoken segments of society. When not writing, you can find her listening to someone's stories or playing with dogs. Sonali values mental health and encourages people to speak their heart out!

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All Sizes Are Beautiful: Meet The Gurgaon Mother Fighting Body-Shaming And Helping Several Homemakers To Earn!

Written By: Sonali
March 2, 2023 | 11:22 AM |
3,026

Highlights

Being someone who always has been a curvy (overweight) person all her life, finding the perfect outfit was also a challenge for Malvika.

Malvika calls it a one-stop-shop that caters from 0 months onwards — stands for sustainable fashion, eliminates the middle man, and connects the consumers to the weavers directly.

The execution was not easy, of course, but Malvika was determined to bring this up in any case

 

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Remember the times when our mothers used to give up on their dreams so that they could build ours?

Yes, while most of them couldn’t really rebuild their dreams and found the content in their children’s’, a few of them dared to start from ground zero.

Malvika Mathur is one such mum who lived for her children first and then followed her passion and fulfilled her dream of creating something which’s not only mind-fulfilling but also sustainable and people-friendly!

Early life

Born in a close-knit joint family of the Shikohabad, Uttar Pradesh, she was a girl with big dreams but lesser options. Married at an early age, she always had this passion for designing since childhood and for keeping this passion alive, she used to create and curate clothes for several friends she made in several places due to her husband’s job.

And on moving back to India, Malvika’s daughter encouraged her to live her dream, which sprouted LabelEeshav in 2011 — a one-stop-shop for all garment requirements; interestingly named after her kids Eesha and Aarav. 

“I had no formal education or training as a designer,” says Malvika, “I completed my masters in Political Science and did a diploma in Business Administration from the University of California.” “Love for my country pulled me back,” Malvika travelled across the globe due to her husband’s job before finally settling down in India in 2008.

The dream of bringing change

Being someone who always has been a curvy (overweight) person all her life, finding the perfect outfit was also a challenge for Malvika. She takes ‘body shaming’ as a person issue, a personal subject as she had to face it, faced bullying and always had to struggle due to the stereotypical world we live in. And that is what motivated her more to design clothes for the ‘real women’!

“In my journey, I have met a lot of beautiful souls who were scarred and scared and vulnerable as people had ripped them off their confidence. While designing clothes for them and making them feel confident, I felt as if I am putting a balm on my own wounds. Their smiles and confidence were my real achievements,” says the 44YO entrepreneur who encourages more women to showcase their talent.

What is LabellEshav? 

Malvika calls it a one-stop-shop which cater from 0 months onwards — stands for sustainable fashion, eliminates the middle man and connect the consumers to the weavers directly. The idea is also to recreate and remodel existing clothes to avoid more landfill. The venture also supports small women artisans by selling their handmade accessories directly to the audience. 

“It gives me immense happiness to provide a platform to these women who have creative skills but lack of mediums to bring it across due to either societal or family or marital shackles. LabellEshav is just a platform for these talented women to shine out from the convenience of their home,” Malvika continues.

The ‘passion to profession’ moment

“The colours, vibrancy arts of weaving always mesmerized me! Chanderis, Mahaeshwaris, Banarasis — they all have an unparallel elegance while the Dabu, Ajrakh, Lehariya offers so much to play around,” says the Gurgaon mother who breathed every thread of fabric all her life.

The execution was not easy, of course, but Malvika was determined to bring this up in any case. She believes in the 3Ps more than the theoretical knowledge — Passion, Patience & Perseverance. Honesty, hard work, and consistency, as she says, can take someone miles. All you need to do is to identify your niche instead of feeling insecure.

The underrated condition of ‘Handcraft’

Malvika wouldn’t be the first one telling me this! A lot of women I talked to before have confessed that people in our country do not give ‘Handcraft/ Handmade Products’ the attention, love, and value that they deserve. And probably this is why a lot of self-made artists vanish away before coming to the limelight of glory and appreciation even once.

“With Labelleshav, I wish to stand hand in hand with our weavers, get their crafts across the globe, and get them the acknowledgement & appreciation they deserve. It’s all about the connection, trust and honesty with these artisans,” Malvika further continues. With her venture, she doesn’t only want to make a full stop on the body-shaming theory but also wants to provide employment to artisans/ homemakers as much as possible.

Malvika clearly understands how much issues like body-shaming, employment or even giving up on dreams impact an individual. And thus, she prioritizes mental health more than anything. What according to her is still a taboo in a lot of Indian households and just a new buzz or fad among the millennials, is a serious issue which must not be overlooked. She works closely with an NPO named ‘youth for world peace’ to acknowledge the same.

Blinded by Brands

Malvika says that most of the people in India are guided by branding due to which small businesses with equal or better quality struggles. 

“I’d urge people to be more polite to service providers and request them to buy from small vendors as they struggle more,” Malvika says. “When we do not think of bargaining with brands or shops in malls, we can also give this thought of being considerate towards the local vendors. After all, even a pinch of kindness goes a long way!”

Malvika lost her father at the age of 10, but she believes he never stopped watching over and guiding her. She believes in being true to herself, her work and not living in the past or holding any regrets.

Future plans

She further wants to expand her business to provide employment opportunities to more artisans and homemakers. “We are humans, and we tend to make mistakes. Let’s not pull each other down but try to extend a helping hand,” she says.

In the end, she encourages people to accept themselves as they are — despite their physical appearance. Most of the apparel on Labelleshav’s website is worn by Malvika’s daughters, Eesha & Kainat, to which she says, “I strongly believe that what my daughters can wear would be wearable and safe for anyone!” She concludes with quoting George Bernhard Shaw’s line, ‘A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.’

Infano encourages every woman to come forward, stand for each other and follow their dreams despite all the struggles and hardships. If you know someone whose story must be heard, please tag us in the comments below!

bodyshamingFashiongurgaoninfanowomenmalvika mathurmy body my choicePassion To Professionstartupswomen in indiawomen power

Sonali

A 'non-9-5 desk job' ambivert geek who chooses her own audience, Sonali loves sharing stories and finding the corners where humanity still exists! She believes that every individual's story is unique and special. She loves writing about the untouched and unspoken segments of society. When not writing, you can find her listening to someone's stories or playing with dogs. Sonali values mental health and encourages people to speak their heart out!

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