If you’re unexpectedly pregnant and considering abortion, recognizing the potential risks is critical to your health.

It’s not just your physical health to be concerned about. For some women, the experience of abortion can lead to significant mental health challenges. These issues may be caused, triggered, or aggravated by the abortion itself, or they may become more complicated as a result.

Read on to learn more about how an abortion can affect your mental health.

Are You Feeling Pressured?

There are a variety of circumstances that can put you more at risk of adverse mental health effects. The most significant factor that can put you at more risk is feeling pressured into an abortion decision.

According to the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, about 75% of women who had an abortion felt at least subtly pressured into getting one. Of these women, many reported negative mental health outcomes afterward, including feelings of:

Shame
Guilt
Regret
Self-hatred
Worthlessness
Being unworthy of love
Low self-esteem
Anxiety

Other Factors

Other pre-existing conditions that could increase your risk of experiencing mental health problems include:

Having a history of mental health disorders
Lacking a support system to help you recover emotionally from the abortion
A desire to have children now or in the future

Mental Health Effects

With all these risk factors, you could experience any number of mental health challenges.

Studies found that women were at an elevated risk for:

Anxiety
Suicidal behaviors
Substance abuse
Traumatic symptoms
Sleep disorders

Get The Care You Deserve

At Today’s Choice Women’s Center, we offer comprehensive pregnancy services and support so you can feel supported when you need to make a pregnancy decision. We also offer post-abortive care for women dealing with the aftermath of an abortion.

Take advantage of our free services so you can get the care you deserve.