Bulletin

Issue: March/April 2008

Research

Depression after abortion

A new study delves into the hearts of immigrants

Partner violence has been identified as the 'missing link' on the vexed question of a possible connection between abortion and depression.

This follows an analysis by Dr Angela Taft from La Trobe University Mother and Child Health Research. Her findings were presented to a recent International Congress on Women's Mental Health in Melbourne.

Dr Taft and colleague Lyn Watson argue the very few studies which have found a connection between abortion and depression have been fundamentally flawed as they did not take account of partner violence.

'The evidence we have found is clear: partner violence and depression are significantly linked. Abortion is not the important factor,' said Dr Taft.

Using data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, the researchers found that abortion had a small but statistically non-significant relationship to depression – the same as having two or more children when young. In contrast, partner violence had a strong and four-fold effect on depression.

'If we want to reduce depression among women we would be more effective reducing the unwanted pregnancies, miscarriages, adverse pregnancy outcomes and excess births linked with intimate partner violence – which we know causes depression – than by restricting women's access to abortion services,' Dr Taft said.