Rome, (Zenit.org) |
The
outstanding scientific journal “Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences”
has just published (July 2013) an important study on the psychiatric and
psychological consequences of abortion on women, entitled “Abortion and
subsequent mental health: review of the literature”. This study analyzed
all scientific trials published since 1995, that evaluated the psychological
and psychiatric health of women who had had an abortion, compared with those
who had either given birth to a baby or those who had had a miscarriage. The
authors retrieved 30 studies that took into account depression, anxiety
disorders (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder) and substance abuse disorders
in the studied women. A detailed and thorough table that describes every study,
with particular attention to women’s age, scale used for assessment, results,
and type of the study.
The studies were categorized according to the pregnancy outcome
(childbirth, unplanned childbirth or miscarriage) compared with abortion. The
results were very interesting and gave new light to the phenomenon of abortion.
A: On 19 studies that compared abortion versus
childbirth, 13 showed a clear risk for at least one of the reported mental problems
in the abortion group versus childbirth, five papers showed no difference. Only
one paper reported a worse mental outcome for childbearing.
B: Some studies compared abortion versus
unplanned pregnancies ending with childbirth (this approach is important, since
an unplanned childbirth may be a reason for abortion fearing psychological
trauma): four studies found a higher risk in the abortion groups and three no
difference.
C: Last, authors analyzed those 9
studies that compared abortion versus miscarriage (both ending with fetal
loss): three studies showed a greater risk of mental disorders due to abortion,
four disclosed no difference and in two, short-term anxiety and depression were
higher in the miscarriage group, while long-term anxiety and depression in the
abortion group.
What emerges from this analysis is that it seems difficult to
argue that abortion has no psychological or psychiatric consequences: no study
– with just one exception - in 30, showed that abortion consequences are lower
than childbearing, even in the case of “therapeutic” abortion or in the case of
unplanned childbearing.
Authors solicit further studies in this field, to compare more
studies using similar methods and outcomes because, as they write, “The risk
that abortion may be correlated with subsequent mental disorders needs a
careful assessment, in order to offer women full information when facing a
difficult pregnancy”.
The conclusion of the authors is that “fetal loss seems to
expose women to a higher risk for mental disorders than childbirth; some
studies show that abortion can be considered a more relevant risk factor than
miscarriage”.
(July 25, 2013) © Innovative Media Inc.
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