Unintended Pregnancy, Induced Abortion, and Mental Health

Abstract

The Turnaway Study prospectively enrolled 956 women seeking abortion in the USA and followed their mental health outcomes for 5 years. The control group was comprised of women denied abortions based on gestational age limits, thereby circumventing the major methodological flaw that had plagued earlier studies on the topic. Rates of depression are not significantly different between women obtaining abortion and those denied abortion. Rates of anxiety are initially higher in women denied abortion care. Counseling on decision-making for women with unintended pregnancies should reflect these findings.

Aborto inseguro no Brasil: revisão sistemática da produção científica, 2008-2018

“…Women with post-induced abortion posttraumatic stress symptoms were, are a higher proportion, young, with low educational levels, higher levels of anxiety and depression and greater need for counseling than those who did not develop symptoms 95 . In the United States, women who were denied abortions had higher anxiety levels at the beginning of follow-up than those who had abortions 96 . In the Brazilian context, in which abortion is illegal and women who seek clandestine abortions are subjected to unsafe methods, it is to be expected that an unwanted pregnancy represents an even greater psychological and emotional stress, aggravated by the stigma surrounding abortion in health services.…”

The abortion and mental health controversy: A comprehensive literature review of common ground agreements, disagreements, actionable recommendations, and research opportunities

“…The purpose of this review of the medical literature on AMH was to examine the areas of agreement and disagreement, the reasons for disagreement, and the opportunities for improved research and collaboration. The method I used began with a review of reviews published since 2005 4 – 10 , 12 – 19 , 21 , 22 and an examination of the studies cited in these reviews.…”

“…3 While each researcher and expert has likely developed carefully considered and nuanced opinions, these have not been completely disclosed and cannot be cataloged in regard to every issue discussed herein. Still, broadly speaking, it is evident that both expert reviews and the authors of individual studies appear to generally support either the view that (a) the mental health effects associated with abortion are minimal and within the expected range for the women seeking abortions 4 – 10 or (b) the effects are significant enough to justify more research dollars, and better screening and counseling in order to reduce the number of adverse outcomes. 11 – 19 In addressing this conflict, it is not my intention to pigeonhole any particular expert’s viewpoint at any location on the spectrum of views regarding AMH.…”

“…The method I used for this review was to carefully examine previous literature reviews regarding mental health effects associated with legal abortion that have been published since 2005. 4 – 10 , 12 – 19 , 21 , 22 In that sense, this article may be considered a review of reviews of the literature on AMH. In addition, I studied the references cited in these various reviews in order to further my effort to more completely identify (a) areas of agreement and disagreement, (b) the underlying reasons for disagreements, and (c) opportunities to collaborate in light of the current literature.…”

Vasectomy and male sexual dysfunction risk

“…[ 1 ] Whereas, several women will choose to obtain abortions suffering the unintended pregnancy. The condition not only exerts pressure on the relationship of couples and severely impacts the quality of life (QoL), but also imposes a heavy burden on the health of women and child, such as damaging the mental health of women, [ 2 ] affecting subsequent pregnancy, [ 3 ] and even inducing child maltreatment. [ 4 ] Therefore, selecting appropriate contraception is necessary.…”