Possible Mental Health Effects of Abortion
The mental health effects of abortion can impact your life in various ways. Numerous published studies show that abortion is associated with elevated mental-health risk.1 For instance, a meta-analysis of 22 published studies, which together included 877,181 participants, found that compared to women who carried a pregnancy to term, women who had an abortion had an 81% increased risk of mental-health problems, including the following:
- Anxiety disorders
- Major depression
- Alcohol abuse
- Marijuana abuse
- Suicide attempts
Each woman's emotional response is unique, and the mental health effects of abortion may surface years after the procedure. It's important for your long-term wellbeing to be fully informed prior to having an abortion. Likewise, it's important to seek care and support afterward.
We provide personalized, compassionate after-abortion support in Northridge, California, serving clients throughout the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. We do not provide or refer for abortion services.
If you’re contemplating an abortion or have already experienced one, we are here for you. Please contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
1 Bellieni CV, Buonocore G. Abortion and subsequent mental health: Review of the literature. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2013 Jul;67(5):301-10 (reviewing 30 studies). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23859662/; Sullins DP. Abortion, substance abuse and mental health in early adulthood: Thirteen-year longitudinal evidence from the United States. SAGE Open Med. 2016 Sep 23. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27781096/.
2 Coleman P. K. (2011). Abortion and mental health: quantitative synthesis and analysis of research published 1995-2009. The British journal of psychiatry: the journal of mental science, 199(3), 180–186.
https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.110.077230.
