Emotional Consequences of Abortion (Post Abortion Syndrome)
Is Post Abortion Syndrome Fact or Fiction?
65% of American women experienced multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder which they attributed to their abortions. Medical Science Monitor, 2004
42% of women with an abortion history experienced major depression in the last four years.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2006
5 times more likely to report drug or alcohol abuse with an abortion history than women who delivered. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Nearly twice as likely to be treated for sleeping disorders within 180 days of the pregnancy ending compared to the group that delivered. Sleep, 2006
62% higher risk of death from all causes and 2.5 times higher risk suicide in the post-abortive population compared to those who deliver.Southern Medical Journal, 2002
30% more likely to report symptoms of anxiety disorder than women who carried to term. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2005
Teens who abort are 5 times more likely to seek counsel for emotional and psychological distress than their peers in unintended pregnancies. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2006
Post Abortion Syndrome Symptoms
- Grief
- Depression
- A sense of alienation from people you have been close to, isolation
- Guilt and/or shame
- Anger at oneself, the father of the baby, or anyone who encouraged the abortion
- Nightmares or flashbacks
- Alcohol problems
- Drug problems
- Trying to get pregnant with a "replacement baby"
- Problems bonding with other children
- Deterioriating self-esteem
- Difficulty concentrating
- Suicidal thoughts
- Relationship and intimacy problems
- Eating disorders
- Self-mutilation
- Anniversary reactions
- Child abuse
- Hyperalertness
- Physical and emotional numbness
- Sense of helplessness
- Feeling of a loss of control
- Sudden emotional outburst, many times crying
- Reduced motivation
- Re-experiencing or "seeing" the abortion