Danish Study: Abortion Does Not Cause Mental Health Problems -- Having a Baby Does

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Danish Study: Abortion Does Not Cause Mental Health Problems -- Having a Baby Does
http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/451091/study%3A_abortion_does_not_cause_mental_health_problems_--_having_a_baby_does/#paragraph3

Good news for all the anti-choice extremists who insist that their politics are driven by their deep concern for women's wellbeing. A new study has found that having an abortion does not put a woman at risk for mental health problems. But you know what does? Having a baby.

A Danish study published in the New England Journal of Medicine tracked 365,550 women over 12 years who'd either had a kid or terminated a pregnancy. They compared the rates at which women in each group sought mental health care. Among the women who'd had abortions, the rate of psychiatric counseling stayed more or less the same before and after the procedure. But in the group that gave birth, the number seeking mental health treatment jumped from 4 women in 1,000 before giving birth, to 7 women in 1,000 post-partum.

The AP, which highlighted the study, writes, "The research by Danish scientists further debunks the notion that terminating a pregnancy can trigger mental illness and shows postpartum depression to be much more of a factor."

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