The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 46 million pregnancies end in abortion each year, and nearly 20 million of those are thought to be unsafe (WHO, 2003). An estimated 67,000 women die each year from unsafe abortions, and hundreds of thousands more women suffer serious injuries and disabilities (WHO, 2003). About 13% of maternal deaths are due to unsafe abortions. 1 Unsafe abortions are a serious public health problem in India. In fact, unsafe abortion is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in India. The number of abortions is steadily rising each year. The number of deaths due to unsafe abortions has also been steadily increasing.Out of all the recognized procedures of first trimester MTP, Electrical Vacuum Aspiration (EVA) has been used since years. Vacuum aspiration has become standard surgical procedure for safe early pregnancy termination. Most of these operations are performed in operating theatre using suction curettage and an electric vacuum. Manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) is an alternative that is well suited for use as a clinical procedure,
Paper
AbstractObjectives: The present study compares MVA and EVA as the method for 1st trimester MTP in terms of effi7acy, blood loss, duration, acceptability and complications. Method: The present study was conducted in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Eden Hospital, Medical College, Kolkata. Medical College, Kolkata is also a Government of India recognized center for MVA training programme. A total number of 200 patients were studied; out of which 100 patients underwent MVA and remaining 100 EVA. Cases were compared with respect to age, parity, blood loss, time taken and complications. Results : In the present study MVA was effective in 98% and EVA in 97% cases as 2% and 3% respectively of the 2 groups required reevacuation for incompleteness. Thus the two procedures did not show much difference as far as their effectiveness was concerned. Conclusion : MVA has a safety and efficacy profile similar to that of EVA. Also, MVA is a simple, safe, effective procedure, portable and low cost technique. Hence, MVA is a promising method compared to EVA which can be practiced widely in rural areas where the access to medical facilities are limited, high tech equipments are not available, power supply erratic and maintenance of instruments not up to the mark. The judicious use of MVA comes with a promise to make early abortions safe and easily accessible to women of both rural and urban societies belonging to any socioeconomic strata.
