[Psychiatric and psychological consequences of abortion]

Over the last decades a debate on the psychological and psychiatric consequences of the right to abortion took place. Abortion is a word-wide phenomenon linked to different aspects of public health. Although negative consequences are assumed to occur after abortion, most of the women who decide to terminate their pregnancy show several signs of relief. For instance, a decrease of signs of anxiety and depression may occur during the first month after abortion. Actually, the critical moment is the pre-abortion period. In this phase, most of the psychiatric and psychologic manifestations take place. Moreover, recent studies reinforce the importance to address the consequences of abortion with a multidisciplinary approach integrating somatic and psychologic components.