Abortion attitudes of pregnant women in prenatal care

Abstract

Objective: This study was undertaken to describe abortion attitudes in a diverse cohort of pregnant women enrolled in prenatal care.

Study design: A cross-sectional interview study of 1082 demographically diverse gravid women enrolled in prenatal care at less than 20 weeks' gestation was performed.

Results: Most participants (92%) supported abortion availability. Half (50%) who were willing to consider an abortion would do so only in the first trimester. Among the gravid women willing to consider an abortion in the first or second trimester, 84% would do so after rape/incest or if their life was endangered and 76% would if their fetus had Down syndrome. Gravid women considering abortion were more likely to be white, older, have had a previous abortion, and to express distrust in the health care system. Women who would not consider abortion were more likely to be multiparous, married/living with partner, and to express greater faith and fatalism about their pregnancy outcome.

Conclusion: Although most pregnant women enrolled in prenatal care support abortion availability, about half would only consider a first-trimester procedure. These findings underscore the need for early prenatal genetic counseling, screening, and testing.