Psychologic status, barriers and help-seeking behaviors during decision-making for induced abortion among unmarried pregnant women in three cities of China

Objective To examine psychologic status, barriers and help-seeking behaviors during decision-making process for induced abortion among unmarried pregnant women in China.Methods An anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted among 1271 unmarried women aged below 25 years, visiting hospitals for induced abortion in Shanghai, Chengdu or Taiyuan city.Results Of the participants, 78.84% were nervous, anxiety or depression in considering their probable pregnancy and 68.51% reported difficulties during making the decision of induced abortion, mainly because of lacking related knowledge and service information.Among the participants, 92.20% reported seeking help from their boyfriends, 43.90% from their friends, colleagues, or townees, and 30.70% from television and internet; the proportion of the involvement in the induced abortion decision-making was 86.23% for the participants themselves, 42.17% for their boyfriends, and only 8.65% for their parents.Significant differences existed among the participants from Shanghai, Chengdu, and Taiyuan in the reported proportions of indifferent attitude of themselves towards the unplanned pregnancy(10.07%, 3.61%, and 5.87%; χ²=14.88, P=0.001), seeking help from their parents(32.86%, 23.08%, and 15.96%; χ²=45.33, P=0.000), the involvement of their parents in the induced abortion decision-making(15.38%, 6.49%, and 3.99%; χ²=38.76, P=0.000), and being accompanied by their parents during seeking medical service(12.15%, 6.23%, and 5.63%; χ²=14.87, P=0.001).The participants from Taiyuan city reported a significantly higher proportion(39.20%) for considering the induced abortion decision-making being easy compared to those from Shanghai(20.79%) and Chengdu(20.72%)(χ²=66.77, P=0.000).Conclusion Many unmarried women would fall into distressed emotional state in considering their probable pregnancy and had difficulty during making the decision of induced abortion.Providing sexual knowledge and abortion-related service information may reduce potential negative impact of unplanned pregnancy on their physical and mental health.