Ultrasound Testing During Pregnancy and Abortion Among the Urban Poor in Three Cities of India

Dewaram A. Nagdeve , International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

The present paper is an attempt to examine the use and timing of ultrasound testing during pregnancy and abortion for women who had ultrasound testing during pregnancy. The analysis is based on 4,346 pregnancies to interviewed women in the survey on Health of the Urban Poor. Analysis reveals that an ultrasound test in the last abortion was conducted for 56 percent of pregnancies, but differentials exist by socio-demographic characteristics of mother and it leads to abortions. The proportion of women who ever experienced abortion is slightly higher among those living in slums than among non-slums. Ultrasound testing during pregnancy has strong positive relationship with the mother’s education and standard of living index of the household, the relationship is even stronger for women with two children and women with three or more children. The less educated women are significantly more likely to have an abortion in case of one surviving child.

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 Presented in Session 10. Fertility, Family Planning, Sexual Behavior & Reproductive Health 2