The abortion decision: fantasy processes

"Which baby?": a qualitative study exploring the fantasies about the unborn baby among women with hyperemesis gravidarum

This study aims to explore the conscious fantasies about the unborn baby among women experiencing hyperemesis gravidarum and identify possible clinical implications. Fourteen inpatient women with moderate to severe symptoms of hyperemesis gravidarum and between the 12 and 14 weeks gestation participated in semi-structured interviews. Analysis of the transcripts revealed escape and aggression fantasies about the baby, denial of fantasies in the categories tested (name, sex, external and internal characteristics of the baby), freezing of the maternal-fetus bond, and ambivalence toward the continuation of the pregnancy. Neither the severity of symptoms nor the stated quality of life mediated the results. These findings suggest that the discussion and reframing of fantasies can be proven helpful and relieving for the women facing any pregnancy complication. Toward achieving a multidisciplinary approach, the variable of fantasy should be considered among others.

Dimensions of decision difficulty in women's decision-making about abortion: A mixed methods longitudinal study

Relatively little is known about the ease or difficulty with which women decide to have an abortion, and most research uses single-item measurements. We used a mixed methods approach to combine data from the Dutch Abortion and Mental Health Study (DAMHS, n = 325) with data from a qualitative study about the decision process with a small subsample (n = 69) of the DAMHS study. We used the findings from the qualitative study to develop the Dimensions of Abortion Decision Difficulty [DADD] scale, and tested this scale among a larger sample of women who took part in the second wave of the cohort study (n = 264). Qualitative analyses revealed six dimensions of decision difficulty. The DADD scale was based on these six dimensions. Results from the DADD scale at follow-up reduced these to four dimensions: (1) unrealistic fears about the abortion and fantasies about the pregnancy; (2) decision conflict; (3) negative abortion attitudes; and (4) general indecisiveness. Decision conflict was the only dimension related to previous mental disorders. The findings suggest that the concept of decision difficulty seems multidimensional, rather than unidimensional. On a clinical level, it could be important to separate the more general fears, attitudes, and indecisiveness from strong decision conflict, because the latter might involve pressure of others, lack of decision ownership, and might be related to previous mental health.

Abortion service in Amsterdam: deciding and coping in a liberal system

OBJECTIVES

The Netherlands have liberal abortion laws and contraceptives are easily available. In the AMC, a service protocol is designed to facilitate decision-making. In this context, the following questions arise: Do our abortion clients know what went wrong with their contraceptive behavior? Did they decide for more effective contraception afterwards? How did they feel about their own decision and about our services, which include obligatory counselling?

STUDY DESIGN

A questionnaire was sent to 23 consecutive clients, who were willing to cooperate. The questionnaire consisted of a scale with 26 items and two open-ended essay-questions.

RESULTS

The response rate was 45% (11 complete questionnaires). Seven women had used contraceptives, six knew what had gone wrong, five had decided to improve their contraception, four women had not used contraceptives, out of which two decided to start, seven women found the abortion decision difficult, seven women (not the same) were content with their decision, and one of them felt bereaved. The four who were not, on the whole, content with their decision felt bereaved. Eight appreciated our services, ten had used the essay-questions to tell their own story. One woman explicitly regretted her decision and would have liked more intensive counselling.

CONCLUSIONS

Our system does not yet function as it should. The reasons may be psychological (unexplored ambivalence), sociocultural (difficulties in using effective contraception) and cognitive (some women were very young and not adequately informed). On a methodological level, we conclude that open-ended questions on these subjects generate more accurate and subtle information.