Abortion as a process of birth limiting rather spacing among the traditional method of contraceptive users in West Bengal

Sumoni Mukherjee, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

Other states of India have achieved low fertility emphasising mostly on sterilization, in West Bengal couples mostly depend on Traditional methods of contraception. This study tries to understand in spite of higher education of people of urban people of West Bengal are using traditional methods of contraceptive and selected abortion as a method to limit their family size. The study used data that have 100 women who were ever users of traditional method of contraceptives. Study shows prevalence of small family norm in the population, more motivation to use traditional methods and husbands desire to use the methods. It had also observed that there were high level of unintended pregnancies due to use of traditional methods and total 33 percent induced abortions. Induced abortion found more among the women who were faced unintended pregnancy in second inter-pregnancy interval (35 percent). Total 33 percent unintended pregnancy ended as induced abortion.