Kvinnors upplevelser före, under och efter abort

Abstract

Background: Abortion is a procedure in which the experience of this in influenced mythe woman’s life. In Sweden there were 37 524 abortions in 2009. Since 1975, abortionwas allowed in Sweden. Women who had an abortion needs care which also looks tothe mental stress of the experience that for some women may involve. Aim: The aimwas to describe women's experiences before, during and after an abortion. Method:This study is a literature review based on ten scholarly articles. Articles were foundthrough the databases Cinahl, PubMed, and PsycInfo and was subsequently revisedbased on a review model by Willman and Stoltz in the year of 2006. All articles areapproved and reviewed by an ethics committee. Results: Before abortion womenexperienced ambivalence, anxiety and stress. During the abortion, some women feltalone and found the hospital environment strange and frightening. Both positive andnegative experiences of the nursing staff was reported. After the abortion, womenreported both positive and negative emotions. Some felt relieved that the pregnancy wasterminated. Many of the women felt that abortion experience is something you live withforever. Discussion: Three key findings were discussed. These were that the abortionexperience is individual and sometimes hard. Abortion is also often associated withanxiety and stress. Conclusion: The literature study's results show that abortionexperience is individual and can be experienced both positive and negative, health careprofessionals should have knowledge of this so that nursing care can be designedaccordingly. Health professionals must be responsive and provide support for women asit is crucial to how experience is processed.