Mental health risk ‘not raised’ by abortion
Abortion does not increase women’s risk of mental health problems, according to the world’s biggest study of the issue.
Women with unwanted pregnancies are more likely to have mental health issues, but the rates of problems are the same whether a woman decides to give birth or have an abortion.
The report, which includes data on hundreds of thousands of women in 44 previous studies, was carried out by the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health at the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Around 11 to 12 per cent of the general population suffer from depression and anxiety, said Professor Tim Kendall, director of the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health – but this rises to around a third of women who have an unwanted pregnancy.
Previous research has focused on whether abortion itself causes mental health problems, but Professor Kendall said that future research should instead deal with the impact of unwanted pregnancy.
The research – commissioned and published today by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges -concluded that women with a history of mental health problems are more likely to suffer problems after they have an abortion.
Factors that can potentially increase the risk of mental health issues after an abortion include being pressurised by a partner to have an abortion, stressful events, or the woman herself having a negative attitude towards abortions.
Women ‘reassured’
Dr Roch Cantwell, a consultant perinatal psychiatrist and chairman of the steering group, said that women carrying an unwanted pregnancy should be “reassured”.
“Current evidence shows they are no more likely to experience mental health problems if they decide to have an abortion than if they decide to give birth,” Dr Cantwell said.
The team behind the report looked purely at the mental health aspects of abortion.
“There is a separate debate, which is about the ethics and about legal abortion, illegal abortion, the physical consequences, which are not part of our report,” said Professor Kendall.
“We are simply saying that with regard to the mental health outcomes, we should now shift our attention to the problems associated with unwanted pregnancy, not abortion.”
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) recently revised its guidelines on the care of women who request induced abortion to reflect today’s findings.
Dr Kate Guthrie, from the RCOG said: “The recommendations highlight the need for service providers to inform women about the range of emotional responses that may be experienced during and following an abortion.
“It is important that all women, and particularly those with a history of previous mental health problems, are offered appropriate support and, if needed, follow-up.”
However a spokeswoman for the ProLife Alliance said: “Once again the politics of abortion blinds those who should be rigorously objective in assessing epidemiological evidence.
“This is a pick-and-mix report trying to minimise the psychological effects of termination of pregnancy in a way which does our so-called medical experts little credit.”