Introduction. Termination of pregnancy - induced abortion is inevitable in
family planning as the final solution in resolving unwanted pregnancies. It
can be the cause of major physical and phychological concequences on women?s
health. Diverse opinions on psychological consequences of induced abortion
can be found in literature. Material and methods. A prospective study was
performed in order to predict acute stress disorder (ASD) after the induced
abortion and the possibility of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Seven
days after the induced abortion, 40 women had to fill in: 1. a special
questionnaire made for this investigation, with questions linked to some risk
factors inducing stress, 2. Likert?s emotional scale and 3. Bryant?s acute
stress reaction scale. Results. After an induced abortion 52.5% women had ASD
and 32.5% women had PTSD. Women with ASD after the abortion developed more
sense of guilt, irritability, shame, self-judgement, fear from God and
self-hatred. They were less educated, had lower income, they were more
religious, did not approve of abortion and had worse relationship with their
partners after the abortion in comparison to women without ASD. Age, number
of previous abortions and decision to abort did not differ between the two
groups. Discussion and conclusion. Induced abortion represents a predisposing
factor for ASD and PTSD in women. Some psychosocial factors contribute to the
development of stress after abortion. Serbia has a task to reduce the number
of abortions which is very high, in order, to preserve reproductive and
phychological health of women.