Post-abortion Syndrome (PAS)

Post Abortion Syndrome is defined as:

"A delayed or slow developing, prolonged and sometimes chronic grief syndrome." It encumbers a woman’s ability to process the fear, anger, sadness and guilt surrounding her abortion experience.

Post Abortion Syndrome can be very severe. It can lead to psychiatric hospitalisation and suicidal behaviour. It can cripple a woman’s ability to function in normal relationships, cause marriage breakdowns and be an underlying factor in child abuse. It can lead to drug and alcohol abuse which can then become serious problems in themselves.

Symptoms are depression, frequent weeping, feelings of guilt and loss of self-esteem, inability to communicate, suicidal rumination, impaired efficiency in all sorts of circumstances, loss of normal sexual vitality and desire in the sense of sexual personhood, and nightmares. Strong emotions of grief, sadness, inappropriate emotional responsiveness, shame, anger and alienation are all common. Anorexia, bulimia, and recourse to alcohol and drugs can develop.

If the syndrome persists and is not treated adequately, personality changes will gradually emerge and affect family life, working capacity, social and recreational potentials. Affected women are not able to function properly with their partners, nor able to bond with their children. They often have an ‘atonement child’ – a deliberate pregnancy trying to make up for the aborted baby – and often smother this child with over-protective behaviour.

Abortion may be followed by a long period of unrecognised negative reactions. The woman may appear well adjusted and unaffected, but may experience trauma on the anniversary of the abortion date, the due date of birth, or years later.

Sometimes confused with postnatal depression, PAS may be triggered following the birth of a subsequent ‘wanted’ child, although not always the first subsequent ‘wanted’ child.

Other causes of anxiety can bring it to the fore, such as the death of a loved one, the failure to conceive, the loss of a wanted child, the miscarriage of a wanted baby, the birth of a niece, nephew or grandchild, the onset of menopause.

The best available data indicates the period of denial and rationalisation lasts on average five to ten years.

Who is at risk from Post Abortion Sydrome?

• Women who abort for health reasons – either the woman’s health or for foetal abnormalities
  

• Women with a previous psychiatric history
  

• Women with interpersonal relationship difficulties
  

• The emotionally unstable or immature woman
  

• Women with an inadequate network of social support
  

• Women who feel forced to abort by their emotional, financial or social circumstances
  

• Adolescents
  

• Women with a history of sexual abuse or sexual assault
  

• Women who have second trimester abortions
  

• Women with a history of previous abortions
  

• Women who make their decision to abort on inadequate information
  

• Physical complications resulting from abortion may aggravate PAS

Psychological complications of abortion

Not all women who have had an abortion will suffer from symptoms and those who do may not suffer all of them nor to the same degree. The physical and psychological complications which may occur cannot be predicted in any one person – they can happen to anyone – and there is not way of judging beforehand who will be burdened.

In practically every case documented by post-abortion counsellors, the woman was not given all the facts. Many times, abortion is explained as a clinically safe surgical procedure. But this so-called ‘safe procedure’ can leave you with permanent physical complications as well as potentially chronic psychological problems.