Background: The literature on indications and their evaluation in mid-trimester abortions in the South Asian population is scarce. This retrospective study aims to identify the causes behind these abortions.
Materials and methods: The data of 55 women who had aborted in the labor room of a tertiary care center in Delhi between January 1, 2022 and March 3, 2023 were studied. The data included age, blood group, gestation, parity, indication, method of termination, biometry of abortus, placental weight, cord length, and complications.
Results: The analysis of these 55 women showed the commonest cause of abortion as missed abortion/intrauterine fetal demise (IUFD) (ten women, 18.2%) followed by inevitable abortion (seven women, 12.7%), preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM in six women, 10.9%), and voluntary termination of pregnancy (five women, 9.1%). The other causes included congenital birth defects, genetic abnormalities, and severe maternal diseases. Invasive prenatal testing in a few fetuses who had congenital anomalies revealed additional genetic abnormalities.
Conclusion: It highlights the need for a detailed evaluation of all pregnancies with reliable prenatal tests for aneuploidy screening, good first-trimester scan, detailed target scan for fetal anomalies at about 20 weeks, and evaluating maternal disorders properly.
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