Abortion ‘poses no extra risk to mental health’

HAVING an abortion does not increase a woman’s risk of suffering mental health problems, according to the world’s biggest review of the issue.

Women with unwanted pregnancy do have a higher incidence of mental health issues than those in the general population, but the rates of problems are the same whether a woman opts for a termination or goes on to give birth, according to the report commissioned and published by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.

The report, which included 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.

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Professor Tim Kendall, director of the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, said 11 per cent to 12 per cent of the general population suffered depression and anxiety.

But this rose to about a third of women who had an unwanted pregnancy.

Prof Kendall said that having an unwanted pregnancy might cause mental health problems, a woman might already have problems before becoming pregnant, or it could be a combination of the two.

The experts found that women who had a history of mental health problems before having an abortion were more likely to suffer problems after the procedure.

Factors that may potentially increase the risk of mental health issues after an abortion included women being pressurised by a partner to have an abortion, stressful events, or the woman herself having a negative attitude towards abortions.

Dr Roch Cantwell, a consultant perinatal psychiatrist, said: “Women carrying an unwanted pregnancy should be reassured that 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.”

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