Study of Danish Women Shows No Evidence of Emotional Harm from Abortion

MedPage Today: No Psych Risk Seen from Abortion in First Trimester, by John Gever:

Although mental disorders were more prevalent among Danish women having first-trimester abortions than among those giving birth, the finding probably did not reflect an effect of the procedure itself, researchers said. . .

Writing in the Jan. 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Munk-Olsen and colleagues said the similar rates of first psychiatric contacts pre- and post-abortion indicated that the procedure was not itself a risk factor for serious mental distress. . . .

They also pointed out that unwanted pregnancies and the circumstances surrounding them are themselves a major stressor, a factor typically not taken into account in the earlier research. . . .

On the other hand, Munk-Olsen and colleagues indicated that, on the basis of their data -- as well as earlier studies -- childbirth is a clear risk factor for subsequent mental health problems, including postpartum depression and psychosis. . . .