The Elliot Institute News
From the Leader in Post-Abortion Research
Vol. 8, No. 8 -- July 1, 2009
Visit Us Online: www.AfterAbortion.org
The UnChoice Campaign: www.TheUnChoice.com
IN THIS ISSUE:
* Abortion Has Greater Impact on Parenting Than Other Forms
of Pregnancy Loss, New Review Finds
* Help Us Get Into the Top 5 on Squidoo!
* Learn More, Lend A Hand: How to Find More Information and
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Abortion Has Greater Impact on Parenting Than Other Forms
of Pregnancy Loss, New Review Finds
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A new review of studies examining various types of prenatal
loss and the effects on subsequent parenting has concluded
that abortion may be "particularly damaging to the
parenting process."
The article, published in Current Women's Health Reviews,
looked at already published studies on miscarriage, induced
abortion and adoption. The author, Priscilla Coleman of
Bowling Green State University, focused on psychological
reactions to these various types of loss and discussed how
they might affect a mother's relationship with children
born after the pregnancy loss.1
It is now known that women usually begin feeling maternal
attachment in the early stages of pregnancy. The paper
notes that despite the increased responsibilities and
stress involved in raising children, "numerous studies have
documented positive psychological characteristics associated
with motherhood including increases in life satisfaction,
self-esteem, empathy, restraint, flexibility and
resourcefulness in coping, and assertiveness." Losing a
child before or at birth, for any reason, however, "can be
a profound source of suffering."
While all forms of pregnancy loss can cause emotional
distress that can impact future parenting, emotional
responses after induced abortion are more likely to go
unresolved and to persist longer than emotional distress
after miscarriage or adoption.
While "society understands that women who miscarry or
relinquish a child through adoption may experience sadness
and grief; however, grief after socially sanctioned because
abortion is not acknowledged by our culture as a human death
experience," and help to deal with the experience is usually
not offered.
"In many cases, women may suppress thoughts and emotions
related to an abortion, because they have not been able to
process and or/openly express negative emotions," Coleman
wrote, adding that the lack of acknowledgement and support
after abortion gives the "covert message that others would
rather not hear what we have to say, and this makes it
difficult to even identify our reactions to our losses."
Finding help and support after abortion is further hampered
by the belief that, unlike other forms of pregnancy loss,
abortion is optional and therefore women experience less
distress afterwards. However, having an abortion is
"sometimes quite inconsistent with the woman's true
desires" (one survey found that 64 percent of American
women who had abortions reported feeling pressured to
abort)2, and many women, especially those who feel
conflicted or didn't want the abortion, do feel emotional
distress afterwards.
"The best evidence regarding negative effects of abortion
indicates that 20-30 percent will experience serious
psychological problems," Coleman wrote. "With 1.3 million
U.S. abortions performed annually, a minimum of 130,000 new
cases of abortion-related mental health problems appear each
year."
And while abortion advocates frequently argue that abortion
is better than carrying an unplanned pregnancy to term, the
evidence suggests otherwise.
Studies of women with unplanned pregnancies found that
women who aborted had higher risks of depression, substance
abuse and anxiety, and teens who aborted an unintended
pregnancy were more likely to experience negative mental
health outcomes than their peers who carried to term.3
Further, a recent New Zealand study led by a pro-choice
researcher found no evidence that abortion provided any
mental health benefits to women even in cases of unplanned
pregnancy.4
How Abortion Can Impact Parenting
The paper described a number of ways that a previous
abortion can effect a woman's relationship with her living
children:
* Increased depression and anxiety. Abortion has been
linked to higher rates of maternal depression and anxiety
before and after birth, which may effect the woman's
relationship with her children. In addition, depression is
a common predictor for child abuse.
* Sleep disorders and disturbances. Women who have had an
abortion are more likely to experience sleep disorders
compared to women who carry to term, and one survey found
that many women attributed the sleep disorders to a past
abortion. These sleep disturbances "could render the high
energy demands of parenting more complicated."
* Substance abuse. Studies have found that women who had an
abortion were more likely to engage in substance abuse, and
also more likely to smoke or use drugs or alcohol while
pregnant. Mothers who abuse drugs or alcohol are more
likely to "engage in authoritarian and punitive parenting
practices," and parental substance abuse increases the risk
that the children will suffer abuse or neglect.
* Child abuse. Abortion has been associated with lower
emotional support for one's children and with a higher risk
of child abuse and neglect.
Abortion has also been linked to higher rates of suicide
and to a wide range of mental health disorders. Coleman was
also the lead author of a study published in The Journal of
Child Psychology and Psychiatry, which found that the
children of women who had abortions have less supportive
home environments and more behavioral problems than
children of women without a history of abortion.5
While the review noted that not every woman may experience
psychological problems after abortion that will carry over
into their personal relationships, "some women will have
carryover effects into the parenting realm." The paper
pointed to a need for better screening and awareness of
possible psychological problems after miscarriage, adoption
and abortion, and for more research to examine the effects
of abortion.
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Learn more: For more information on the impact of
abortion, download and share our free "Recent Research"
fact sheet at www.theunchoice.com/T/RecentResearch.pdf
Citations
1. PK Coleman, "The Psychological Pain of Perinatal Loss
and Subsequent Parenting Risks: Could Induced Abortion Be
More Problematic Than Other Forms of Loss," Current Women's
Health Issues 5: 88-99, 2009.
2. Rue et. al., “Induced abortion and traumatic stress: A
preliminary comparison of American and Russian women,”
Medical Science Monitor 10(10): SR5-16, 2004.
3. For studies, see the Recent Research fact sheet at
www.theunchoice.com/T/RecentResearch.pdf.
4. DM Fergusson et. al., "Abortion and mental health
disorders: evidence from a 30-year-longitudinal study,"
The British Journal of Psychiatry (2008), 193: 444-451.
5. PK Coleman, DC Reardon, JR Cougle, “Substance use
among pregnant women in the context of previous
reproductive loss and desire for current pregnancy,”
British Journal of Health Psychology 10: 255-268, 2005.
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