How women anticipate coping after an abortion.

BACKGROUND

There has been some study of women's emotional and psychological well-being after an abortion but no research into women's expectations, at the time of seeking an abortion, of how they will cope after the abortion.

STUDY

DESIGN

We abstracted counseling needs assessment forms of 5109 women who sought an abortion at a clinic in 2008.

RESULTS

The most common emotions that women anticipate feeling after their abortion are relieved (63%) and confident (52%). A significant minority anticipate feeling a little sad (24%) and a little guilty (21%); 3.4% anticipate poor coping. Women with fetal abnormalities, women who do not have high confidence in their decision, women who have spiritual concerns about abortion, women with a history of depression, women who feel that they were pushed into having an abortion and teenagers are more likely to anticipate poor coping postabortion.

CONCLUSIONS

The vast majority of women expect to cope well after their abortion. A small number make the decision to terminate their pregnancies even though they anticipate difficulty coping after the procedure.