92 per cent of pregnancies result in births, according to the national level survey
According to the National Family Health Survey for 2019-21, Jammu and Kashmir has the lowest fertility rate in the country, with a 0.6 per cent decrease in the fertility rate from the last survey in 2015-16.
According to NHFS-5 data, the fertility rate among uneducated women and women from scheduled castes is higher than that of educated women and women from non-scheduled castes.
According to the report, the fertility rate of women in rural areas is higher than that of women in urban areas.
In the union territory, the median age of first marriage for women aged 25 to 49 is 23.6 years. According to the study, 27 per cent of women aged 20 to 49 have never married, compared to 35 per cent of men aged 20 to 49.
TFR at 1.4 children per woman is below the replacement level
The total fertility rate (TFR) is 1.4 children per woman, which is below the replacement level of fertility (2.1). Between NFHS-4 and NFHS-5, fertility dropped by 0.6 children, according to the study.
The total fertility rate in urban regions is 1.2 children per woman, whereas in rural areas, it is 1.5 children per woman.
Place of residence, caste/tribe, and education are the factors that have the greatest impact on fertility. At current fertility rates, women without any schooling will have 0.7 more children than women with 12 or more years of schooling.
Women from other backward castes will have 0.4 more children than women from the scheduled caste/tribe or another backward caste, according to the report.
92 per cent of pregnancies result in births
According to the NHFS-5 data, 8% of foetuses are lost due to abortion, miscarriage, or stillbirth, whereas 92 per cent of pregnancies result in a live birth in the UT.
The National Health and Family Survey data shows that 92 per cent of pregnancies ended in a live delivery in the five years prior to the survey, while the remaining 8% ended in foetal wastage (abortion, miscarriage, or stillbirth).
The most prevalent type of foetal wastage is a miscarriage, which accounts for 5% of all pregnancies, and abortions, which account for 2%.
Complications in pregnancy (26 per cent), health concerns (19 per cent), and unplanned pregnancy (17 per cent) were the top three reasons given by women for abortion.
Medications (69 per cent), manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) (1%), and other surgical techniques (23 per cent) were the most commonly used methods for accomplishing abortions, it stated.
Majority of abortions conducted by doctors
The public health system performed 79 per cent of abortions, while the private health sector performed 14 per cent. Also, 37 per cent of women who had an abortion said the procedure caused problems. The majority of abortions in Jammu and Kashmir (82 per cent) are conducted by a doctor.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the median interval between births in the five years before the survey was 36.7 months. According to the report, 6% of births happen within 18 months of the preceding one, and 19 per cent happen within 24 months.
According to studies, waiting at least three years between children lowers the risk of infant death and improves maternal health.
