"Women who are in a difficult situation -- pregnant and unsure whether or not to continue with the pregnancy -- should know that they do not have an increased risk of having a first-time episode of a severe mental disorder after an abortion."UPDATE 1/29/11: Papal adviser finds holes in new study
-- Trine Munk-Olsen, Ph.D., epidemiologist at Aarhus University, in Denmark
-- From "Study finds no rise in post-abortion mental issues" by Lynne Peeples, Health.com, posted at CNN 1/26/11
Roughly 1 percent of the women who had abortions were treated for a psychiatric problem -- such as depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety -- in the nine months leading up to the procedure, a rate that did not change measurably in the year following the abortions, the study found.
Still, the study does have some important limitations. Although the researchers did control for the women's age and any parental history of mental disorders, they didn't take into account social or economic characteristics, nor whether a pregnancy was actually wanted. And the researchers don't know if the study participants had untreated mental health problems, [said Robert Blum, M.D., an adolescent health expert at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore].
It's also unclear how well the findings might translate to the U.S.
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From "Abortion does not increase risk of mental health problems, study says" by Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times 1/26/11
Women [in the study] who had abortions had higher rates of mental health disorders overall. But there was little difference in psychiatric visits before and after the abortion: 1% had contact with a mental health professional before the abortion compared with 1.5% after.
Women who gave birth had lower rates of mental health problems. However, visits for psychiatric healthcare increased after the birth: 0.3% had a mental health visit before childbirth compared with 0.7% in the year following.
Though women who have abortions may tend to have more mental problems, this propensity predates the abortion and may even be a factor that makes termination of pregnancy more likely, the authors concluded.
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From "Abortion Typically Doesn't Harm Mental Health: Study" by Amanda Gardner, HealthDay News Reporter 1/26/11
In Denmark, abortions are both free and legal during the first trimester.
The most frequent reasons for psychiatric visits were neurotic or stress-related complaints. Some past studies may have included issues such as sadness or regret, which don't necessary constitute a mental disorder, Munk-Olsen said.
Among women and girls who actually delivered a baby, about four in 1,000 had a first-time psychiatric episode before the baby and about seven afterward -- an increase possibly related to postpartum depression, the study authors said.
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From "Study finds that women who have abortions are more likely to seek psychiatric help" by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, LifeSiteNews.com 1/27/11
A new study financed by the pro-abortion Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation has found that women in Denmark who have abortions are far more likely to seek psychiatric help for the first time in their lives in the months surrounding their abortion than women who give birth.
The study, entitled “Induced First-Trimester Abortion and Risk of Mental Disorder” and published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, examined Danish medical records maintained by the government, which records incidents of abortions and psychiatric counseling among citizens. The study covers the years 1995-2007.
The authors found that women who underwent abortions were almost three times more likely to seek psychiatric help for the first time in their lives during the nine months before and twelve months after the procedure, than women who gave birth.
However, the authors did not regard the results as suggesting a causal relationship between abortion and mental illness.
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Click headlines below to read previous articles:
Abortion Linked to Mental Health Disorders
Late-Term Abortions Harm Mental Health: Study
Mother Regrets Her Addiction to Abortion
Abortion Doesn't Harm Teen Mental Health: Study
UK: Royal College Warns Abortions Can Lead to Mental Illness
