Awareness about emergency contraceptives pill in women who came for medical termination of pregnancy

Objective: Emergency contraception, otherwise known as postcoital contraception, refers to a group of birth control modalities that, which can reduce the chance of unintended pregnancy if taken within the specific time limits. The objective of this study was to determine the level of awareness of emergency contraceptive techniques and fertility awareness in a population of pregnant females who were presenting for medical termination of pregnancy. Methods: The study was carried out in 150 females requesting an induced abortion by MTP (Medical Termination of Pregnancy) clinic which is run by Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at New Civil Hospital, Suart, over a period of 6 months from November 2009 to April 2010. All the women were interviewed by a trained interviewer with the help of a pre validated & pretested questionnaire. Results - The study comprises of 152 females, and median age was 27 years. 32.89% were illiterate. Only 36(23.68%) had heard the term 'emergency contraceptive', out of which 3% had exact idea about exact use(it should be taken after unprotected intercourse) of EC pill. The most common source of information was television (100%) in all. Among the users most common method of contraception was condom and oral contraptives (73.68%). Only 7.24% knew the time interval when in the menstrual cycle they were likely to conceive. 30(19.74%) females had previous history of abortion but among them only 17(56.67%) were given education regarding emergency contraceptive use. 9(25%)are in favour of making EC pill available without doctor's prescription. 116 (76.32%) said, sex education should be made compulsory at school level. Conclusion - Knowledge about emergency contraception and fertility awareness is very low among pregnant females coming for induced abortion in New Civil Hospital, Surat. Efforts should be made to increase awareness of emergency contraceptives.