Study: Abortion During First Pregnancy Linked to Higher Use of Mental Health Services
by Katherine Hamilton
Women whose first pregnancies end in abortion are associated with a higher risk and likelihood of mental health issues than women whose pregnancies ended in live births, a peer-reviewed study found.
The peer-reviewed study, called “A Cohort Study of Mental Health Services Utilization Following a First Pregnancy Abortion or Birth,” was conducted by researchers from the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), the education and research arm of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. The research team analyzed claims data for more than 4,800 Medicaid-enrolled women over a 17-year period, in seven states where state taxpayer funds were used to pay for abortions and where all claims for the whole period were submitted.
“By doing so, the team avoided the limitations of surveys that rely on self-reporting, such as low participation, loss to follow-up, and recall bias. The study, published in International Journal of Women’s Health, is the first to take a comprehensive view of mental health services on an outpatient versus an inpatient basis following abortion,” according to the CLI.
The study found that, compared to women whose first pregnancies ended in live birth, higher rates of use were observed in three mental health service categories for women whose first pregnancies ended in abortion. Among them, outpatient visits were 3.4 times more likely to increase, inpatient hospital admissions were 5.7 times more likely to increase, and days of hospital stay were 19.6 times more likely to increase.