The psychological complications of therapeutic abortion.
Psychological or psychiatric disturbances occur in association with therapeutic abortions but they seem to be marked, severe, or persistent in only a minority (approximately 10%) of women. These consist mostly of caseness depression and anxiety. Psychoses are very uncommon, being reported in only 0.003% of cases - most of whom have a history of previous psychiatric illness. Certain groups are especially at risk from adverse psychological sequelae; these include those with a past psychiatric history, younger women, those with poor social support, the multiparous, and those belonging to sociocultural groups antagonistic to abortion. This is not to overlook the fact that, adopting a crisis-resolution framework, subsequent termination of an unwanted pregnancy is itself 'therapeutic'. A better understanding of the nature of the risk factors would enable clinicians to identify vulnerable women for whom some form of psychological intervention might be beneficial.
Zolese
G
G
Department of Psychological Medicine, St Bartholomew's Hospital, London.
Blacker
C V
CV
D000032:Abortion, Therapeutic / Q000523:psychology*; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology