Hyderabad: An increasing number of parents are terminating pregnancies where the foetus has been found to have defects by radiologists, said doctors at the Niloufer Hospital.
Corrective congenital deformities like heart diseases, development of lungs and other organs must be considered before aborting the foetus, the doctors said at a conference to mark paediatrics awareness week.
Dr K. Ramesh Reddy, professor and head of department of paediatric surgery, said, “The manner in which termination is being carried out is equivalent to female foeticide. This is seeing an alarming rise and it is very important to create awareness among pregnant mothers, families and also radiologists and gynaecologists that such acts are against right to life.”
The clinical data collected by paediatricians, radiologists and gynaecologists over the last three years shows that 3.2 million birth defects are detected per year. The commonest birth defects are seen in the heart and neural tubes. The major reasons for defects are genetic problems mostly caused by consanguineous marriages, infections and lack of folic acid.
Dr Shivranjani, paediatrician, said, “Most pregnant mothers in our data were younger than 35 years of age. There are some sections of patients that do not consult doctors and some of them plainly refuse to take medicines. This has proven to be a major handicap and there is a need to create awareness among the people that instead of terminating pregnancy medical help in the beginning will help. Foetal research has helped correct certain anomalies which will help save the child.”
But the other view is that many children are born with defects which are non-corrective and can also impact life as long as they are alive. Besides, there is no support structure for parents of such children, nor do they get any assistance. Ms Lekha Reddy, a support group volunteer at Institute of Genetics, said, “Caring for these children is very different and it takes a toll on the family. Some of them go into depression. Society does not support and accept them, which makes life miserable for the family.” Besides, she noted, such families are frequently stigmatised.
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