New Study: Abortion/Stillbirth Linked to Increased Risk of Child Abuse
Wow. This is alot to digest. I found this linked on an anti-choice blog while doing some research on stillbirth. Certainly, it seems to me to be a case of grasping at insignificant stats to confirm bias. I'm curious what others think. I'll opine later. - Justinian
Authors Say Emotional Healing After Abortion Will Increase Likelihood of "Violence Free" Families
SPRINGFIELD, Il., October 24, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new study published in the medical journal Acta Paediatrica has found that women who have had an abortion are 2.4 times more likely to physically abuse their children.
The study, led by Priscilla Coleman of Bowling Green State University, looked at data taken from a survey of 518 low-income women in Baltimore who were receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children and who had at least one child aged 12 years or younger. The data compared rates of child abuse and neglect among women who had experienced either an involuntary (miscarriage or stillbirth) or voluntary (induced abortion) pregnancy loss.
The results showed that women with a history of one induced abortion were 2.4 times more likely to physically abuse their children than women who had not had an abortion. In addition, the increase in risk among women who had experienced an abortion was more significant than the increase among women who had experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth.
The authors suggested that "emotional difficulties and unresolved grief responses" from pregnancy loss, whether voluntary or involuntary, could have a negative impact on women's mental health and lead to unhealthy parenting responses. Past studies have linked pregnancy loss to an increase in grief reactions, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, all of which can have a negative impact on parent/child relationships.
In addition, induced abortion has been linked to an increased risk of substance abuse and suicidal thoughts, and a 2002 study published in the Journal of Child Psychiatry and Psychology found that children whose mothers had a history of abortion tended to have less supportive home environments and more behavioral difficulties.
The current study showed that although a single involuntary pregnancy loss did not significantly increase the risk of child abuse or neglect, physical abuse was more common among women who had experienced multiple involuntary pregnancy losses. However, women who had repeat abortions were not more likely to abuse their children than women who had one abortion, although abortion increased the risk of physical abuse overall.
In addition, neither form of pregnancy loss was linked to child neglect, leading the authors to speculate that mothers with unresolved losses may be able to "go through the motions" of meeting their children's basic needs but have difficulty coping with issues such as anger or parent/child conflict.
"Regardless of the specific mechanisms at play, maternal history of one induced abortion does appear to be a marker for increased risk of physical abuse," the authors wrote.
They also noted that while emotional difficulties related to miscarriage or stillbirth are usually resolved within a few years, women who have abortions are often not given an opportunity to resolve feelings of grief or other related emotions. According to Elliot Institute director Dr. David Reardon, who has worked on more than a dozen published studies documenting abortion's negative impact on women, many women either feel a need to keep the abortion a secret or are told to simply "move on" when they try to discuss their pain.
Reardon said that greater attention needs to be focused on the long-term effects of abortion on women and their families.
"The common perception seems to be that abortion solves the immediate problem of a crisis pregnancy and that therefore it must be a positive thing for women," he said. "However, more and more studies such as this one show that abortion can have a severe and lasting impact on women's lives, shaping their futures and the futures of their families for years to come."
The current study is one of the first to compare rates of child abuse among women who had experienced an involuntary pregnancy loss as opposed to those who experienced a voluntary loss. However, the authors noted that the findings were limited by the size of the study and called for more research to be done using larger groups of women.
"In the event that such a large scale effort yields robust findings consistent with those described ... more efforts should be directed toward helping women restore their emotional health following abortion," the authors wrote. "Investment in such programs is likely to improve the quality of their lives and increase the likelihood that their future families will be violence free."
Study Citation: Priscilla K. Coleman, Charles D. Maxey, Vincent M. Rue, and Catherine T. Coyle, Associations between voluntary and involuntary forms of pregnancy loss and child maltreatment among low-income mothers, Acta Paediatrica 94, 2005.
See the Study online: http://journalsonline.tandf.co.uk/link.asp?id=xr05...
Authors Say Emotional Healing After Abortion Will Increase Likelihood of "Violence Free" Families
SPRINGFIELD, Il., October 24, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new study published in the medical journal Acta Paediatrica has found that women who have had an abortion are 2.4 times more likely to physically abuse their children.
The study, led by Priscilla Coleman of Bowling Green State University, looked at data taken from a survey of 518 low-income women in Baltimore who were receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children and who had at least one child aged 12 years or younger. The data compared rates of child abuse and neglect among women who had experienced either an involuntary (miscarriage or stillbirth) or voluntary (induced abortion) pregnancy loss.
The results showed that women with a history of one induced abortion were 2.4 times more likely to physically abuse their children than women who had not had an abortion. In addition, the increase in risk among women who had experienced an abortion was more significant than the increase among women who had experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth.
The authors suggested that "emotional difficulties and unresolved grief responses" from pregnancy loss, whether voluntary or involuntary, could have a negative impact on women's mental health and lead to unhealthy parenting responses. Past studies have linked pregnancy loss to an increase in grief reactions, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, all of which can have a negative impact on parent/child relationships.
In addition, induced abortion has been linked to an increased risk of substance abuse and suicidal thoughts, and a 2002 study published in the Journal of Child Psychiatry and Psychology found that children whose mothers had a history of abortion tended to have less supportive home environments and more behavioral difficulties.
The current study showed that although a single involuntary pregnancy loss did not significantly increase the risk of child abuse or neglect, physical abuse was more common among women who had experienced multiple involuntary pregnancy losses. However, women who had repeat abortions were not more likely to abuse their children than women who had one abortion, although abortion increased the risk of physical abuse overall.
In addition, neither form of pregnancy loss was linked to child neglect, leading the authors to speculate that mothers with unresolved losses may be able to "go through the motions" of meeting their children's basic needs but have difficulty coping with issues such as anger or parent/child conflict.
"Regardless of the specific mechanisms at play, maternal history of one induced abortion does appear to be a marker for increased risk of physical abuse," the authors wrote.
They also noted that while emotional difficulties related to miscarriage or stillbirth are usually resolved within a few years, women who have abortions are often not given an opportunity to resolve feelings of grief or other related emotions. According to Elliot Institute director Dr. David Reardon, who has worked on more than a dozen published studies documenting abortion's negative impact on women, many women either feel a need to keep the abortion a secret or are told to simply "move on" when they try to discuss their pain.
Reardon said that greater attention needs to be focused on the long-term effects of abortion on women and their families.
"The common perception seems to be that abortion solves the immediate problem of a crisis pregnancy and that therefore it must be a positive thing for women," he said. "However, more and more studies such as this one show that abortion can have a severe and lasting impact on women's lives, shaping their futures and the futures of their families for years to come."
The current study is one of the first to compare rates of child abuse among women who had experienced an involuntary pregnancy loss as opposed to those who experienced a voluntary loss. However, the authors noted that the findings were limited by the size of the study and called for more research to be done using larger groups of women.
"In the event that such a large scale effort yields robust findings consistent with those described ... more efforts should be directed toward helping women restore their emotional health following abortion," the authors wrote. "Investment in such programs is likely to improve the quality of their lives and increase the likelihood that their future families will be violence free."
Study Citation: Priscilla K. Coleman, Charles D. Maxey, Vincent M. Rue, and Catherine T. Coyle, Associations between voluntary and involuntary forms of pregnancy loss and child maltreatment among low-income mothers, Acta Paediatrica 94, 2005.
See the Study online: http://journalsonline.tandf.co.uk/link.asp?id=xr05...
posted by justinian at 7:20 PM
10 Comments:
was there any research on the abuse white males who post this sort of article are likely to receive at the hands of women who've had an abortion?
I think one critical factor is overlooked here: the socioeconomic factor of the sample from which this study is based. Low-income women. Desperate women. Women probably lacking a strong support system, perhaps having a history of abuse themselves. Yes I know that rich people abuse their kids and poor ones are very loving too, but this seems to be drawn from an extreme circumstance.
What Eve said. Her reaction was my exact response when it stated the details of the sample. This study is about people who are in already desperate circumstances who are thrust into impossible circumstances.
I think a broader study may have very different findings. Perhaps women who suffer abortions who do not also have the extreme stress of trying to make ends meet on top of their guilt may not be 2.4 times more likely to abuse their subsequent kids.
This study is downright irresponsible. What a shocker. I hope the majority of its audience see through its flaws.
It's not only irresponsible, I'd call it bogus. It's too small a target group, subject to that one demographic. I'm not convinced that 2% increase is a significant enough margin to be coming to any such conclusions.
If they could replicate these findings - in other demographics, time and again, with a larger group - it might hold something, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.
Failing that, I find this shit sandwich quite patronizing.
In addition to what others have said (especially the socioeconomic issues for the women), I wonder if the lack of a way to openly grieve a “voluntary loss” makes it harder to heal for some people. We know that our society doesn’t openly discuss “involuntary loss” very often, but most people who experience this type of loss do get support from their immediate social circles. I think that most people are much more private about abortion because it is so socially unacceptable to talk about in the first person. I don’t think society at large understands how you can decide to have an abortion, but still need to grieve.
(on an aside… I love it that my therapist, who specializes in grief counseling especially loss of babies, includes abortions on her business cards along with miscarriage, neonatal, SIDS, etc. She’s told me that she actually sees several men who come in whose partners had an abortion… now there’s another group of people whose grief is not typically acknowledged.)
Sarah - that sounds like you've found quite a special therapist. Laura's still having some issues finding one -- maybe a drive on up to Michigan is in order.
Hearing about Laura's quest for a decent therapist has really made me appreciate mine. Someone at the hospital gave me her card and I didnt even call around.
I'm in the Lansing area so Cleveland is only... about 6 hours away? And actually she's in Okemos so its a few miles closer. Let me know if you need her name and number...
:)
Hey! Here's an article that points out what we just said. And guess what? We seem to be right!
http://tinyurl.com/cjw7b
And POOF - they have once again changed the conversation.
Women need free and unobstructed access to all available medical procedures when making decisions about their own bodies and their own reproductive systems.
But what about -
Women need free and unobstructed access to all available medical procedures when making decisions about their own bodies and their own reproductive systems.
(Repeat as necessary.)
I was doing a search and came across you blog and just read this post and was discussed. I have had two miscarriages, I am in the process of having my third miscarriage and have had to terminate one baby that was sick and never once have I raised a hand to my living daughter. She is the world to. I would really like to see this person’s research. These people who write these dumb articles have no clue.
Post a Comment
<< Home