'We Decided To Postpone Childbirth'

Illustrated by Stuti Sen

City: Vijayawada

Age: 64

Number of Abortions: Two

Marital Status during Abortion: Married

The Story
My first abortion was at 23 years, in third quarter of 1978. I had a loop (IUD) as my husband and I decided to
postpone childbirth. I do have a tendency of irregular periods but suddenly, one day, I had profuse bleeding
due to the displacement of the loop. It was also detected at the same time that I was three months pregnant. As
the foetus formation was found abnormal, my doctor said that abortion was unavoidable.
At the end of the year 1979, I had missed my periods and did not use any family planning measures. The day
after I had to walk in a hilly area, I started bleeding profusely. Once again abortion was inevitable. This time
my blood group was tested. I was not aware that I was O negative. Doctors explained to me that this was a
problem and gave me injections. After every abortion, the bleeding was too much.
 

What I wish was different
The blood group could have been tested prior to marriage.