International journal of medical science & dental health Original Article A study on characteristic of women seeking post abortion care at a tertiary care hospital, Bikaner Kavita Choudhary, Rekha Acharya1, Kirti Shekhawat2, Abhishek Kawatra3, Rakesh Kumawat Resident ,department of Community Medicine, S.P. Medical College, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India. 1 Professor ,department of Community Medicine, S.P. Medical College, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India. 2 Sr.demonstrator, department of Community Medicine, S.P. Medical College, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India 3 Assistant professor, department of Community Medicine, S.P. Medical College, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India ABSTRACT Introduction: The unmet need for family planning in India is 20.5%, in Rajasthan 16.9% and in Bikaner it is 16.2%. All unintended pregnancies lead either to unwanted births or abortions. The percentage of induced abortion in India is 1.8 and in Rajasthan it is 0.5%. All unintended pregnancies can be prevented by using contraceptive methods effectively. Objective: To study socio-demographic profile of women seeking post abortion care. To find out reasons leading to abortion. Materials and Methods: It was a Cross-sectional study conducted in Department Of Obstetrics and Gynecology from November 2013 to April 2014. Total 400 women seeking post abortion care were included in the study; information was collected by semi structured pre tested questionnaire and data analysis was done by Epi info7.0 software. Results: Mean age was 25.86±5.06 years; majority belonged to Hindu community and from rural areas. The mean age at first pregnancy was 19.69±1.33 years. The mean parity was 1.58±0.90. In present study 31.8% of study population had previous history of abortion. Only 31.2% of study population had ever used any method of contraception. Only 20% of study population had knowledge about emergency contraceptives and among them only 6% of women had ever used emergency contraceptives. Completed family was reported as the cause for induced abortion among 40.5% of study population; 28.6% reported previous baby too young as the cause; medical indication was there in 17.6% and socio-economic status was the reason for 6.9%. Did not want more girl child was the reason for abortion among 1.6% of study population. Conclusion: Completed family was the main cause for induced abortion; so they need to be motivated by health care providers and their counseling should be based on Cafeteria Approach and also about emergency contraceptives to prevent future unwanted pregnancies. Key Words: Unmet need, Unintended Pregnancies, Cafeteria Approach International Journal of Medical Science & Dental Health│2015│Vol 1│Issue1