Psychosocial Profile and Reproductive Decisions of Women Undergoing Pregnancy Termination for Medical Reasons—A Cross-Sectional Study

Kornelia Zaręba, Valentina Lucia La Rosa, Michał Ciebiera, Marta Makara-Studzińska, Jacek Gierus and Grzegorz Jakiel
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Kornelia Zaręba: I Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-004 Warsaw, Poland
Valentina Lucia La Rosa: Unit of Psychodiagnostics and Clinical Psychology, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy
Michał Ciebiera: II Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-809 Warsaw, Poland
Marta Makara-Studzińska: Faculty of Clinical Health Psychology Jagiellonian University Medical College, 31-126 Krakow, Poland
Jacek Gierus: Faculty of Psychology, University of Economics and Human Sciences, 01-043 Warsaw, Poland
Grzegorz Jakiel: I Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-004 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 18, 1-9

Abstract: Background: The study aims to define the profile of women who decide to exercise their right to terminate a pregnancy and their future reproductive plans. Methods: Patients found eligible for termination for medical reasons between 2014 and 2016 were asked to complete an anonymous survey consisting of sixty questions examining the determinants of the decision to terminate a pregnancy. In total, 150 completed surveys were returned (62.5%). Results: Environmental factors, such as age, education, place of residence, marital status and financial status did not affect the decision-making process. The majority of the respondents were females under 35 years of age (71.3%). In most cases, the pregnancies had been planned and long-awaited (62.7%). The study also indicated that 22.6% of the patients who had been against abortion changed their mind when they encountered problems themselves. In addition, 20% of them changed their views on the acceptability of abortion. Termination had an impact on the participants future reproductive plans. Eighteen percent of the patients said they were definitely not planning more pregnancies. The majority (84.09%) of these women said that the reason was the traumatic experiences related to their pregnancy. Conclusions: The personal experience of a pregnancy termination procedure changed women’s opinions about pregnancy termination and modified further reproductive plans.

Keywords: pregnancy termination; abortion; fetal defects; psychosocial profile; decision determinant; choice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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