Summary: Married Women Who Abort First Pregnancy More Likely to Become Depressed than Those who Deliver

Among married women experiencing unintended pregnancies, those who abort are more likely to be at "high risk" of clinical depression than those who delivered their babies.

• Married women experiencing an unintended pregnancy who carry to term are less likely to have high risk depression scores. There are comparable rates of high risk depression in unmarried women who abort their first pregnancy. The author's position notes that the stress of unmarried women with children without spouses may contribute to higher rates of high risk depression.¹

¹Reardon, David C. and Jesse Cougle. Depression and Unintended Pregnancy in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth: A Cohort Study. British Medical Journal, January 2002, Volume 324, 151-152.