title: Women's existential experiences within Swedish abortion care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore Swedish women's experiences of clinical abortion care in relation to their need for existential support.
  
  
  METHODS
  Individual in-depth interviews with 24 women with previous experience of unwanted pregnancy and abortion. Participants were recruited between 2006 and 2009. Interviews were analysed by latent content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although the women had similar experiences of the abortion care offered, the needs they expressed differed. Swedish abortion care was described as rational and neutral, with physical issues dominating over existential ones. For some women, the medical procedures triggered existential experiences of life, meaning, and morality. While some women abstained from any form of existential support, others expressed a need to reflect upon the existential aspects and/or to reconcile their decision emotionally.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As women's needs for existential support in relation to abortion vary, women can be disappointed with the personnel's ability to respond to their thoughts and feelings related to the abortion. To ensure abortion care personnel meet the physical, psychological and existential needs of each patient, better resources and new lines of education are needed to ensure abortion personnel are equipped to deal with the existential aspects of abortion care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Theology, Uppsala Religion and Society Research Centre, Uppsala, SE, Sweden. maria.liljas@crs.uu.se
authors.forename: Maria L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Stålhandske
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ekstrand
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tydén
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011275:Pregnancy, Unwanted / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology; D016387:Women's Health