PubMed · 12264295
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R J Levin. 1982. Current sex pre-selection methods.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12264295/
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The psychological consequences of induced abortion are complex and subject to both considerable controversy and methodological criticisms. While many women report feelings of relief immediately after the procedure, others report feelings of anxiety, which they attribute to their abortions. The purpose of the present study was to examine risk of generalized anxiety following unintended pregnancies ending in abortion or childbirth using a large representative sample of American women. Among all women, those who aborted were found to have significantly higher rates of subsequent generalized anxiety when controlling for race and age at interview. Implications of the findings are discussed. In particular, findings highlight the clinical relevance of exploring reproductive history in therapeutic efforts to assist women seeking relief from anxiety.
Unintended pregnancy has conventionally been defined as a pregnancy that is mistimed or unwanted, and this classification has been widely used in survey research. This study explores the utility of these constructs for women who visited a family planning clinic and a prenatal clinic in inner-city New Orleans, LA, and, by extension, for women of similar background and experience. We used semi-structured, open-ended research to explore sexual debut and history, contraceptive knowledge and use, pregnancy history, partner relations, and service use among 77 women (73 of whom were African-American). This study addresses the apparent paradox of high-risk sexual and contraceptive behavior in the presence of expressed preferences to postpone childbearing. It provides some insight into the cultural and social context in which these events and decisions take place and explores the multiple dimensions that shape women's sexual behaviors and their desires for pregnancy. The dimensions explored include perceptions of and experiences with sex/sexuality, values concerning childbearing/motherhood, relationships with partners, experiences with contraception, and attitudes toward abortion. The apparent ambivalence seen in reports of women asked whether a pregnancy was intended, such as statements that they did not want to get pregnant but were either not using contraception or using it irregularly, calls into question the idea that intendedness can be routinely and easily inferred from survey research. Correspondingly, it is not possible to simply assume that either intentionality or future intentions directly affect decisions to use contraception. The problem is that the many factors-structural and individual-affect women's preferences and ability to postpone a pregnancy or to use contraception.
OBJECTIVE: Firstly, to assess the completeness of ascertainment in the National Congenital Anomaly System (NCAS), the basis for congenital anomaly surveillance in England and Wales, and its variation by defect, geographical area, and socioeconomic deprivation. Secondly, to assess the impact of the lack of data on pregnancies terminated because of fetal anomaly. DESIGN: Comparison of the NCAS with four local congenital anomaly registers in England. SETTING: Four regions in England covering some 109,000 annual births. PARTICIPANTS: Cases of congenital anomalies registered in the NCAS (live births and stillbirths) and independently registered in the four local registers (live births, stillbirths, fetal losses from 20 weeks' gestation, and pregnancies terminated after prenatal diagnosis of fetal anomaly). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The ratio of cases identified by the national register to those in local registry files, calculated for different specified anomalies, for whole registry areas, and for hospital catchment areas within registry boundaries. RESULTS: Ascertainment by the NCAS (compared with data from local registers, from which terminations of pregnancy were removed) was 40% (34% for chromosomal anomalies and 42% for non-chromosomal anomalies) and varied markedly by defect, by local register, and by hospital catchment area, but not by area deprivation. When terminations of pregnancy were included in the register data, ascertainment by NCAS was 27% (19% for chromosomal anomalies and 31% for non-chromosomal anomalies), and the geographical variation was of a similar magnitude. CONCLUSION: The surveillance of congenital anomalies in England is currently inadequate because ascertainment to the national register is low and non-uniform and because no data exist on termination of pregnancy resulting from prenatal diagnosis of fetal anomaly.