Abortion related mental illness and depression - have you experienced it?

I'm currently working on a very involved report that covers the last 30 years of women's health - specifically those who have had abortions and whether or not they have, since or before then experienced any form of mental illness like depression, bi-polar, paranoia, schitzophrenia, feelings of worthlessness, substance or alcohol abuse, promiscuity, inability to bond with intimate relationship partner or other children. If you have any of these symptoms and have had an abortion, even if you don't feel the two are related, I would appreciate your help. answers remain anonymous. if you would prefer to send to my email that's fine. katy_bug7@yahoo.com. This is an important issue for anyone who has experienced abortion since 1973. If, on the other hand, you have had an abortion and experience no mental or emotional illness, I'd like to hear that too. this has nothing to do with a religious study. thank you so much for your interest.

please don't worry about trusting me. you can send a confidential email and not sign it if you like. I can tell you that I've had the experience myself and I'm trying to find out if i'm the only one. most women don't want to talk about our abortions, but i think it's something we need to do - clinics don't give us all the information we should have. please send anonymous letter to 612 s main st, centerville, iowa 52544 send to katybug and don't use a return address. thank you. also i will be happy to share any results (statistics ) i find. thanks

yes i have, i just turned 17 when i became pregnant. My boyfriend was adopted and didnt like the idea but wasnt the most reliable either, my parents thought i ruined their lives as well as my own and gave me a list of abortion clinics and told them to pick one and that was after i decided to keep the baby. then my dad thought i did it on purpose so i could move out before i was 18 and i felt like i had no one to turn to and just so desperately wanted things to get back to normal and the boyfriend floated out of the picture ... i went through with it just to get things back to normal, i was harassed and called a baby killer by girls who found out, looked down upon, regret it to this day, became very depressed had a hard time looking at children and thought of joining a support group but never did because i feel like its salt on open wounds. come to find out when my brother turned 16 he got a girl pregnant and my parents were happy grandparents and helped out wonderfully well, good for the baby but it broke my heart that i wasnt treated that way, with no support. i still breaks my heart to this day and when i see a child who would be mine's age, about 4, i always wonder. i feel like i messed with things that should not be messed with. now 22, i cant wait to have a child and am beginning to think something may have gone wrong with the abortion because i dont think i can become pregnant. to those out there dealing with pregnancy and scared, get as much, and i mean ALL the facts and make your decision from you and your mind only, dont let ppl influence you because no normal person ever looks at their child and regrets having them, and whatever choice is made, you are the only one that is living with that decision the rest of your life.

I want to answere but I don't trust you.

I believe there is a definite link with my depression and a horrendous abortion that was preformed on me with out my consent, I went in fro a tubal ligation and ended up with a badly botched abortion, I was fourteen weeks pregnant, and had a six month old baby boy at the time, the emotional impact on my life is huge, and after twenty three years, when the word abortion is used, I go straight back to those days , I have suffered from depression since this trauma, and believe that a lot of my depression is post natal depression, never diagnosed and never council led. This happened in a major hospital, and my and I emphasize my doctor explained his actions were because he thou ht I didn't need another baby, after obtaining my medical report throughout the freedom from information act, I found , that they panicked, when they found i was pregnant, and attempted to tear my baby out of me. I ended up with an incomplete abortion, my baby's name was Jessie, boy or girl, and I miss my Jessie, the word Abortion makes me cry.

I would have to say, as far as the science of this goes, almost all procedures have some sort of mental stigma. If a woman aborts and regrets it, it may have a direct link to what the woman's surroundings are and her sociological background. If she lives in a religious area, is religious, or later connot conceive children, I can see an otherwise "normal" thinking woman becoming distrought. It takes a strong woman nowadays to stand up in her convictions and to face oppression.

I have had an abortion and suffered no adverse mental problems. I'd have to say that your research needs to include specific regions, general perceptions, and possibly linked stigmas. Remember, the topic you are researching on is not black and white - there is so much else going on! It will be VERY hard to narrow down research to focus on exact causes while excluding the population that already has these issues, if the issues were caused by something else, or by society.

Good luck!