Interruption of pregnancy: motives, attitudes and contraceptive use. Interviews before abortion, at a family planning clinic, Rome

Since 1978 when the law on legal abortion came into force, approximately 35% of all pregnancies in Italy have ended in abortion (illegal abortions excluded). Presently about 25% (national average) of the women who interrupt pregnancy get their medical certificate at a family planning clinic. The general aim of the present study was to describe women's situation on the occasion of their first visit to the family planning clinic, their problems and their motives to abortion. Over a period of 6 months, 65 women were interviewed during their visit to a family planning clinic before interruption of their pregnancy. A semistructured questionnaire was used concerning their motives for interruption of pregnancy, contraceptive habits, their attitudes to abortion and the male partner's participation. The women arrived in an early stage of the pregnancy, 46 women said that they had considered the possibility to interrupt the pregnancy almost at the same time as they got the message that they were pregnant. Twenty-eight women had already a previous abortion, the use of contraceptives did not differ among these women and was generally scarce. Twenty-one women said they had been against abortion before their own experience or said they had never believed themselves to be in need of an abortion.