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.