The Risk Factors Of Abortion In Bipolar Disorder



Posted: Saturday, May 26, 2007

by David Oliver
Bipolar Central

Abortion, a woman's choice, is not a hard procedure to acquire. In general, if you have some cash, all that's required to get an abortion in North America is setting an appointment. What many women are unaware of when they're making this choice - and of particular concern to those with bipolar disorder - is the potential of intense, negative psychological consequences following abortion.

In the 1970s, in Vancouver, Canada, women considering abortion had to first get the permission of their family doctor, a gynecologist, and a psychiatrist. Some women found that it was the psychiatrist who nixed the procedure, telling them they just weren't capable of handling the trauma and that it would impact them for the rest of their lives.

Times have changed, with things turning to the opposite extreme. Now that abortion has become both legal and mainstream, it's commonly viewed as nothing more than a simple procedure.

A woman at the abortion clinic will probably not be told of the possibility of severe negative psychological aftereffects. Most women considering an abortion will never be informed of the documented risk factors of abortion, both physical and psychological. Unfortunately, these hidden risk factors can be even more severely damaging to a woman already suffering bipolar disorder.

The possible negative psychological impact of abortion goes by several names: Post Abortion Syndrome , Post Abortion Stress Disorder, Post Abortion Stress Syndrome, Post Abortion Stress, and Post Abortion Trauma. It's categorized as a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Clinically the recognized diagnosis is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, with abortion as the stressor.

While women in post-abortion counseling have reported over 100 negative symptoms, the ones most concerning to women with bipolar disorder are the tendency to engage in self-destructive acts. In a study of 100 women who suffered PAS, findings reported feelings of self-hatred as most common, followed by drug abuse, and then alcohol. Some women reported becoming addicted to drugs or alcohol following abortion. 60 percent of the women reported suicidal ideation, and 28 percent attempted suicide – half of which attempted suicide twice or more.

In general, denial is the first symptom of Post Abortion Syndrome. If and when this wears off, there may be grief, followed by depression, anxiety, irritability, and low frustration tolerance leading to the possibility of explosions of anger and even violence. There may be a lack of emotional connection, withdrawal in relationships, and sexual promiscuity.

Those familiar with bipolar disorder will recognize these possible aftereffects as potentially serious complications in this illness. The woman with bipolar disorder is already at risk for most, if not all of these psychological problems before she has an abortion. Having an abortion may in fact be what pushes her over the edge, and drives her to end her life in suicide.

Those who pressure the woman with bipolar facing an unplanned pregnancy into abortion may be well-meaning, but are uninformed about the danger of what they are trying to convince her to do. They may think she is ruining her life and the life of the child by going through with the pregnancy, and consider abortion to be a simple and easy solution. Unfortunately, as the studies show, it's not quite so simple. Abortion may in fact become the factor that ruins the life of the woman predisposed to mental illness.

Even those who refute the existence of Post Abortion Stress/Trauma will admit that generally the women most negatively impacted by abortion are those who have lower self-esteem to begin with, those who underwent the abortion in circumstances of extreme pressure or abandonment, and those who had a mental illness before abortion.

In other words, even those who argue against the possibility of a negative traumatic impact following abortion are saying that women who aren't stable to begin with may experience this same negative psychological effect. This brings us back to the abandoned logic of the 70s, when psychiatrists had to OK abortions.

Unfortunately, despite documented statistics and studies of women who have experienced abortion, many psychiatrists are uninformed about the possibilities of the negative psychological impact of abortion – and even have been known to recommend it to women suffering from bipolar disorder.

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David Oliver is a writer and researcher specializing in bipolar disorder. For a useful resource on coping with pregnancy in bipolar disorder, visit http://www.bipolarcentral.com/pregnancy
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by niki
from kingston upon thames 2 years 78 days ago.
i think i have bipolar, i have depression, but its become a major part of my life, i feel like i have nothing left to live for, i dont know what to do, i darent go to the doctors becuase i dont want to be diagnosed with it, i dont feel in control of my life after my abortion, i had a misscarriage 6 months ago, then straight away i got pregnant, i felt forced to terminate my child at 21 weeks and i hate myself, what you have explained is just like my state of mind, your article really helped me understand what might be wrong with me, if you have anymore information, i would really appreciate it, thank you
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