Introduction MTP

Intentional or voluntary termination of pregnancy before full term is called medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) or induced abortion. Nearly 45 to 50 million MTPs are performed in a year all over the world which accounts to 15hd

the total number of conceived pregnancies in a year Government of India legalised MTP in 1971 with some strict conditions to avoid its misate. Such restrictions are all the more important to check indiscriminate and illegal female feticides which are reported to be high in India

MTPs are used to get rid of unwanted pregnancies either due to casual unprotected intercourse on failure of the contraceptive used during coitus of rapes, MTPs are also essential in certain cases where continuation of the pregnanc could be harmful either to the mother or to the fetus or both

MTPs are considered relatively safe during the first trimester, ie, upto 12 weeks of pregnancy Second trimester abortions are much more riskier, The majority of the MTPs are performed illegally by unqualified quacks which are not only unsafe but could be fatal too.

Another dangerous trend is the misuse of amniocentesis to determine the sex of the unborn child, if the fetus is found to be female, it is followed by MTP. Such practices should be avoided because these are dangerous, both for the young mother and the fetus. There should be effective counselling to avoid unprotected coitus and the risk factors involved in llegal abortions so as to stop MTP.