Women’s demand for late-term abortion: A social or psychiatric issue?
Introduction/Aim. Induced termination of unwanted pregnancy after 12th gestational week (late-term abortion) is legally restricted in Serbia as well as in many other countries. On the other hand, unwanted pregnancy very often brings women into the state of personal crisis. Psychiatric indic...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, University of Defence, Belgrade
2014-01-01
|
| Series: | Vojnosanitetski Pregled |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0042-8450/2014/0042-84501407660N.pdf |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849408892358885376 |
|---|---|
| author | Nikolić Gordana Samardžić Ljiljana Krstić Miroslav |
| author_facet | Nikolić Gordana Samardžić Ljiljana Krstić Miroslav |
| author_sort | Nikolić Gordana |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction/Aim. Induced termination of unwanted pregnancy after 12th
gestational week (late-term abortion) is legally restricted in Serbia as well
as in many other countries. On the other hand, unwanted pregnancy very often
brings women into the state of personal crisis. Psychiatric indications for
legally approved late-term abortion on women’s demand include only severe
psychiatric disorders. The aim of this paper was to compare sociodemographic,
psychological characteristics and claimed reasons for abortion in the two
groups of women with late-term demand for abortion - the group of women
satisfying legally prescribed mental health indications, and the group of
women not satisfying these indications. The aim of the study was also to
determine predictive validity of the abovementioned parameters for late-term
abortion as the outcome of unwanted pregnancy. Methods. A total of 62
pregnant women with demand for late-term abortion were divided into two
groups according to the criteria of satisfying or not satisfying legally
proposed psychiatric indications for late-term abortion after psychiatric
evaluation. For the assessment of sociodemographic and psychological
parameters sociodemographic questionnaire and symptom checklist - 90 revised
(SCL-90®) scale were used, respectively. The outcome of unwanted pregnancy
was followed 6 months after the initial assessment. Results. The obtained
results showed a statistically significant difference between the groups in
educational level, satisfaction with financial situation, elevated anxiety
and distress reactions. Unfavorable social circumstances were the main reason
for an abortion in both groups and were predictive for an abortion. A 6-month
follow-up showed that women had abortion despite legal restrictions.
Conclusion. Pregnant women with psychiatric indication for late-term abortion
belong to lower socioeconomic and educational level group compared to women
without this indication who have more frequently elevated anxiety and
distress reactions to unwanted pregnancy. It is necessary to have more
accurate guidelines for mental health indications for legally approved
late-term abortion, respecting social circumstances. Preventive measures are
of great importance in order to lower the risk of illegally performed
late-term abortions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7ed50968dabc415d8b9ad0e28bec97e2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0042-8450 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, University of Defence, Belgrade |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vojnosanitetski Pregled |
| spelling | doaj-art-7ed50968dabc415d8b9ad0e28bec97e22025-08-20T03:35:40ZengMinistry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, University of Defence, BelgradeVojnosanitetski Pregled0042-84502014-01-0171766066610.2298/VSP1407660N0042-84501407660NWomen’s demand for late-term abortion: A social or psychiatric issue?Nikolić Gordana0Samardžić Ljiljana1Krstić Miroslav2Faculty of Medicine, NišClinical Center Niš, Clinic for Mental Health, NišClinical Center Niš, Clinic for Mental Health, NišIntroduction/Aim. Induced termination of unwanted pregnancy after 12th gestational week (late-term abortion) is legally restricted in Serbia as well as in many other countries. On the other hand, unwanted pregnancy very often brings women into the state of personal crisis. Psychiatric indications for legally approved late-term abortion on women’s demand include only severe psychiatric disorders. The aim of this paper was to compare sociodemographic, psychological characteristics and claimed reasons for abortion in the two groups of women with late-term demand for abortion - the group of women satisfying legally prescribed mental health indications, and the group of women not satisfying these indications. The aim of the study was also to determine predictive validity of the abovementioned parameters for late-term abortion as the outcome of unwanted pregnancy. Methods. A total of 62 pregnant women with demand for late-term abortion were divided into two groups according to the criteria of satisfying or not satisfying legally proposed psychiatric indications for late-term abortion after psychiatric evaluation. For the assessment of sociodemographic and psychological parameters sociodemographic questionnaire and symptom checklist - 90 revised (SCL-90®) scale were used, respectively. The outcome of unwanted pregnancy was followed 6 months after the initial assessment. Results. The obtained results showed a statistically significant difference between the groups in educational level, satisfaction with financial situation, elevated anxiety and distress reactions. Unfavorable social circumstances were the main reason for an abortion in both groups and were predictive for an abortion. A 6-month follow-up showed that women had abortion despite legal restrictions. Conclusion. Pregnant women with psychiatric indication for late-term abortion belong to lower socioeconomic and educational level group compared to women without this indication who have more frequently elevated anxiety and distress reactions to unwanted pregnancy. It is necessary to have more accurate guidelines for mental health indications for legally approved late-term abortion, respecting social circumstances. Preventive measures are of great importance in order to lower the risk of illegally performed late-term abortions.http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0042-8450/2014/0042-84501407660N.pdfpregnancy, unplannedabortion, legalabortion, criminalmental disorderspsychiatric status rating scalesdemographysocial conditions |
| spellingShingle | Nikolić Gordana Samardžić Ljiljana Krstić Miroslav Women’s demand for late-term abortion: A social or psychiatric issue? Vojnosanitetski Pregled pregnancy, unplanned abortion, legal abortion, criminal mental disorders psychiatric status rating scales demography social conditions |
| title | Women’s demand for late-term abortion: A social or psychiatric issue? |
| title_full | Women’s demand for late-term abortion: A social or psychiatric issue? |
| title_fullStr | Women’s demand for late-term abortion: A social or psychiatric issue? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Women’s demand for late-term abortion: A social or psychiatric issue? |
| title_short | Women’s demand for late-term abortion: A social or psychiatric issue? |
| title_sort | women s demand for late term abortion a social or psychiatric issue |
| topic | pregnancy, unplanned abortion, legal abortion, criminal mental disorders psychiatric status rating scales demography social conditions |
| url | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0042-8450/2014/0042-84501407660N.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nikolicgordana womensdemandforlatetermabortionasocialorpsychiatricissue AT samardzicljiljana womensdemandforlatetermabortionasocialorpsychiatricissue AT krsticmiroslav womensdemandforlatetermabortionasocialorpsychiatricissue |