Distress After Abortion Linked to Increased Mental Health Problems, Study Finds

Women Reporting Negative Emotions 40-80 Percent
More Likely to Have Mental Health Disorders

Nov. 5, 2009

A new study on mental health problems after abortion has found that women who report negative reactions to abortion are at higher risk for mental health problems.

The paper, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, found that more than 85 percent of women who aborted reported at least one negative reaction to abortion, such as such as sorrow, grief, regret or disappointment; and approximately 35 percent reported five or more negative reactions.

The high numbers are of concern because the paper also found that the risk of mental disorders among women who had negative reactions to abortion was 40 to 80 percent higher than among women who didn't abort.

The results came from an ongoing survey that tracked women in the Christchurch area of New Zealand from birth to age 30. A subsample of about 530 women were given questions about their pregnancy history and mental health outcomes, including being asked whether the pregnancy was unwanted or unplanned, and their initial reaction to the pregnancy at the time.

Overall, more than 86 percent of women who had abortions also reported at least one positive reaction, such as feelings of relief, happiness or satisfaction. When the responses are broken down into categories, however, more women were likely to respond "not at all" when asked if they felt happiness (58 percent "not at all" vs. 23 percent "very much") or satisfaction (60 percent vs. 20 percent) about the abortion.

The research team concluded that "many women experience a mixture of both positive and negative emotions about having an abortion," but said that that the results don't support the belief that abortion is better for women than unwanted or unplanned pregnancy.

"There is no evidence in this research that would suggest that unwanted pregnancies that come to term were associated with increased risks of mental health problems or that abortion mitigated the risks of mental health problems in women having unwanted pregnancy," the authors noted.
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Source: AfterAbortion
David M. Ferugsson, L. John Horwood and Joseph M. Boden, "Reactions to abortion and subsequent mental health," The British Journal of Psychiatry 195: 420-426 (2009).