Women with a History of Pregnancy Loss or Abortion in a Behavioural Medicine Hospital - an Exploratory Field Study

Objective: Gaining insights into the frequencies of negative obstetric histories in inpatients of a behavioural medicine hospital and the extent of their current psychological burdens. Method: We acquired sociodemografic, obstetric and psychological (psychopathology, coping patterns, and attribution styles) data of 117 inpatients by means of standardized questionnaires and interviews. Results: Eighteen percent of the women exhibited a negative obstetric history (spontaneous, medically indicated or voluntary abortion) that dated back an average of 16 years. These women suffered more often from somatoform disorders and showed higher depression scores as well as other distinctive problems regarding their psychological wellbeing and their attributional and coping styles. Women who had undergone voluntary abortions showed a particular pattern of psychological distress. Those women who still felt psychological burden of pregnancy loss or abortion were younger and had fewer children. Conclusions: Almost one fifth of this inpatient sample in a behavioural medicine hospital exhibited a negative obstetric history and one third of these women still were affected psychologically. Clinicians therefore need to include obstetric data when taking a woman's psychiatric history, in particular with regard to depression, in order to be able to include this issue in their treatment plan, even if the pregnancy loss or abortion dates back many years.