PSYCHIATRIC OUTCOME OF TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY FOR FETAL-ABNORMALITY

Termination of pregnancy for foetal abnormality has become frequent wi th the increasing sophistication of techniques of antenatal diagnosis. The aim of this study was to obtain quantitative and qualitative info rmation about psychiatric morbidity in women after termination of preg nancy for foetal abnormality. Two samples of women were compared. The first consisted of 71 women who had had a termination of pregnancy for foetal abnormality (FA group). The second consisted of 26 women who h ad experienced so-called missed abortion (MA group). Both groups had l ost a pregnancy in the mid-trimester of pregnancy, but the MA group ha d no element of choice. Standardized psychiatric and social measures w ere used to assess both groups on three occasions after the terminatio n. In both groups, 4 weeks after the termination psychiatric morbidity was high (four to five times higher than in the general population of women), and social adjustement was impaired. Six months and 12 months after the abortion, levels of psychiatric morbidity were near normal. . Semi-structured interviewing was used to obtain information about th e experience of grief after mid-trimester termination. For many women, symptoms of grief persisted throughout the year. These symptoms inclu ded typical features of grief as well as grief symptoms specific to pr egnancy loss. The findings have implications for the counselling of wo men after termination for foetal abnormality or after missed abortion.