Weeping and sadness postabortion: spontaneous or induced?
L. Polanco Reyes, T. Canto de Cetina, S. Ruiz García, M. Ordóñez Luna

SUMMARY

Objective: To unveil and describe the feelings of women who were admitted with the diagnosis of abortion in progress. Besides, we intended to find out the origin of these abortions which ended in instrumental uterine curettage performed at the hospital.

Study design: This was a transversal, descriptive study.

Emplacement: The study was performed at the Hospital Materno Infantil in Mérida, Yucatán, México.

Subjects: Women of all ages of low socio-economic level who were admitted with the diagnosis of abortion in progress.

Principal measurements: Information was gathered indirectly through an interview, and included: socioeconomic status, age, parity, number of recently ended pregnancy, previous abortions, data on initiation of bleeding, knowledge about induced abortion, facts about uterine manipulation, medication intake, and feelings regarding the event. The study lasted six months.

Results: We found that in a large percentage of women (84%) weeping was the initial reaction, which is considered a post-abortion symptom, and a feeling of sadness was also referred by 77% of the women. They were reluctant to answer openly about their knowledge regarding the induced abortion or with respect to the places where this practice is performed. It is supposed all women were admitted because of an spontaneous abortion in progress.

Conclusions: We corroborated that the fear of legal punishment or stigmatization may have an influence on women, making them reluctant to speak openly about their knowledge regarding induced abortion. This attitude is unreasonable given that it is hard to believe that there are women today who have not heard about this controversial topic or who have known somebody who has undergone an abortion. Sustained weeping and sadness are insufficient when trying to determine the origin of an abortion. The involved woman would have to be approached with direct questions and she would need to acknowledge the possibility of manipulation of her pregnancy, which is difficult to do in countries where official penalty or social condemnation is possible.

KEY WORDS

Abortion, induced, feelings, spontaneous.